Crossroads
by MoSugar12
Summary: Max becomes the new girl in school for the fourth time in a row and at first it seems like all the others but before she knows it she's being drawn in by two different guys, Dylan and Fang. At first she finds herself falling for Dylan, but will she realize her mistake in time, or will Fang have to come to her rescue?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Maximum Ride characters, all of that is owned by the wonderful James Patterson**

**Reviews and Favorites are welcomed :)**

**Chapter 1**

I don't know how I ended up in these situations.

I was riding in the car with Jeb and my three siblings Nudge, Angel, and Gazzy. Okay, I'm sure you have some questions already so let me explain. Jeb is our adoptive father; he picked each and every one of us out of the millions of other kids who could use a good home. And as for the names, well…let's just say Jeb had a knack for picking out accurate nicknames.

Oh and by the way, I'm Max.

So back to the problem, I'm riding in the car with my family on the way to some place none of us have ever heard before. All Jeb told us was that it was a small town and we probably wouldn't be able to get into trouble there.

Speaking of trouble….I turned around to glare at Gazzy from the passenger seat, it was his fault we were in this mess, this was our fourth move in the past two years, all because we couldn't seem to stop getting expelled from our schools, and for once it wasn't my fault. The last three moves had to do with me not being able to resist helping the underdogs, I had gotten in a little too many fights with the bigger kids and that was it, we were on our way, but of course the one time I decide to be good and not get into any fights we still end up getting expelled.

See Gazzy has a very weird love of anything explosive, it doesn't help that Jeb is a scientist either. The way Gazzy tells the story, apparently these kids were making fun of him for his digestive problems, he's always had a problem with passing gas, and my god does it stink, like to high heaven! Anyway, so I guess these kids were making fun of him and he decided he would get back at them by making his own personal gas bomb. And where does he put it you might ask? Right in the poor kids locker! As soon as that kid pulled open the door, BOOM! Of course Gazzy was instantly outed as the culprit and off to the office he went. And now because of him we were on our fourth move.

"I said I'm sorry Max what more do you want?!" Gazzy whined finally noticing the death stare I was giving him

"I want you to go back in time and not make that bomb." I said. Gazzy stared at me sheepishly. I knew I shouldn't be berating him like this since he's only a kid but I was too angry to care.

"Come on Max it'll be fun! We can meet new people and make new friends and have new teachers and just think of all the cute bunnies and horses we'll be able to see because we're going to live in the country! Oh I wonder what our new house looks like? I bet it's just like those fancy log cabins I see on TV, oh it's going to be great Max I can't wait to…."

"Okay Nudge you can stop now." I said holding up my hand in the universal "stop" sign. She was known around our house for never being able to stop talking, sometimes I wondered how she didn't run out of breath and pass out during one of her many famous monologues.

"She's right Max, it'll be fun." I heard a tiny voice squeak. It was Angel, my baby, my little girl. She was the youngest out of all of us but by far the sweetest, I would never admit it to anyone but I loved her the most.

"We'll have fun." she whispered causing my anger to melt away. I could never be mad at Angel.

"She's right Max, just calm down and give it a chance." I heard Jeb say beside me. I grumbled slightly trying to maintain my pissed off aura.

"Okay whatever." I grumbled. I grabbed my headphones out of my pocket and plugged them into my phone beginning to play the most loud, hardcore rock music I owned. I could no longer hear the voices around me talking and very slowly I drifted to sleep against the car window with the angry voices of rock and roll singers to soothe me.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Maximum Ride characters, all of that is owned by the wonderful James Patterson**

**Reviews and Favorites are welcomed :)**

**Chapter 2**

School was boring.

That's all there was to say about it, it went on for way to many hours, never fed us nearly enough food to contain our growling stomachs, and the teachers were like zombies just going through their days. It was all some mindless, endless rut and after three days I was already sick of it.

I didn't know how the students here managed to keep themselves entertained, but judging by the loose looks on their faces and the sort of hyperactivity they showed in class my guess was it had something to do with drugs, probably an amphetamine, maybe meth. God how stupid could these kids be, didn't they know how much meth messed you up? Trust me I knew all about that, perks of having a scientist as an adoptive father.

Since I wasn't about to get into the passing drug fad, I was stuck being bored out of my mind. I was just contemplating ditching second block when I felt someone ram into my shoulder with theirs.

"Hey! Watch where you're going!" I yelled. They had hit me so hard that I lost the grip I had on my books and they went slamming in the floor, causing everyone in a mile radius to look up or hit the deck. I rolled my eyes at the mess on the floor and bent down to retrieve the scattered papers and textbooks. As I was reaching down to grab the last book I heard a voice speak.

"Maybe you should look where you're walking." I rolled my eyes still not looking up at the person, trying to balance all my books in my arms.

"Well I would hate to see how you are around blind people if you're blaming me for you not looking." I grumbled finally looking at whomever it was who had hit me.

He was gorgeous. He was tall, at least two inches taller than me so I had to actually look up to him. He was wearing dark slouchy jeans and a black t-shirt with a skull on it. He had shaggy dark back hair that fell in his face framing his dark eyes. They were so dark they looked almost black but upon a closer inspection I realized they were just a really deep, steely grey. His lips were full and pink, so perfectly shaped making me want to kiss him before I even knew his name.

"Well you should know I actually treat the blind fairly nice, especially since my brother is blind." he said smirking at me slightly.

"Oh." was all I could think to say. I was still staring at him awkwardly wishing so much that I had worn something other than my ratty old tee to school.

"I'm Fang by the way." he added looking me over. His eyes went from my toes to the top of my head and I couldn't tell whether or not he approved. Not that it mattered, he may have been cute, but I wasn't some damsel in distress who needed men to find me attractive and tell me I'm pretty 24/7. No, that was more like Lissa, this stuck up red-head in my chemistry class.

"Fang?" I mocked dubiously, "No way can that be your name." I said finally regaining my wits and returning to normal, humanoid Max. He awarded me with a full on smile.

"It's a nickname." he explained.

"Cute." I shrugged.

"You know usually when you tell people your name they respond with theirs" He took a step closer to me causing me to back up into lockers.

"Well I'm not just anyone." I retorted, sliding past him on the lockers and heading down the hallway to my next class. I didn't need some guy to distract me right now, I was already busy enough adjusting to moving again and helping Jeb with all of the kids, that guy was the last thing I needed, and the trouble he would surly bring.

* * *

Lunch. The most irritating part of the day. I didn't know anyone in yet so I had no one to sit with, and of course there weren't any empty tables for me to fill. Finally, after several minutes of searching I found a mostly empty table. I walked over and set my stuff down at the end farthest away from the two kids at the end. When I looked over at them I noticed they were already staring at me. It was a boy and a girl. The boy had strawberry blonde hair and really pale skin, almost ghostly, his head was pointed in my direction but I wasn't sure if he was actually looking at me or not, it didn't help that he was wearing dark sunglasses. Weird right? The girl was very clearly staring at me. She had long dark hair and tan skin with large chocolate brown eyes. She was clearly of Hispanic descent.

"Hey why don't you come sit here with us?" she asked me, her voice was strong but sweet. I didn't want to be rude, especially since they were being so nice to me so I just nodded and moved over to where they were sitting, planting myself right in front of the girl.

"My name is Ella," she said as soon as I got situated, "and this here is Iggy." she added. Iggy nodded his head at me but I still felt like there was something a little off.

"What's with the sunglasses kid? Is the cafeteria a little too bright for you?" I asked him sharply. I wanted to know what this kid's problem was.

"Actually I'm blind, and it helps people feel more comfortable around me when I wear them." he said confidently. Instantly I felt bad.

"You know I love you no matter what." Ella said planting a kiss on the Iggy's cheek, it was cute in a semi odd way.

"So who are you miss sass?" Iggy teased.

"I'm Max." I responded sheepishly.

"Hey Iggy, who's this sitting with you guys?" I heard a voice say behind me. I looked back and saw the boy from earlier, Fang. Oh no, not good, I thought.

Fang set his tray down right in front of Iggy, which happened to be right beside me.

"This is Max." Iggy told him. Fang looked at me hard, finally realizing who I was.

"Oh hey, you're the girl from earlier, the one who wouldn't tell me her name. Well now I know, although I'm insulted you didn't tell me first." he said, his voice dipping low on that last part. Was he flirting with me? I couldn't tell. It's not like I was all that special with my ratty tee and my ripped up skinny jeans.

"So I guess this is the brother you mentioned." I responded trying to keep my voice level.

"Yeah, this is Iggy, I know we don't look much alike but we're brothers. He got all the smarts and I got all the looks." he joked.

"Yeah whatever man, at least I've got a girl." Iggy retorted planting a somewhat inappropriate kiss on Ella. I swear I could see their tongues snaking in and out of each other's mouths. Ella stopped the kiss first and giggled slightly.

"Come on we don't want to scare Max away." she laughed. I looked down for a second thinking.

"Actually I have to go anyways, I told my teacher I would show up early to help her set up for class, something about birds I think." I told them, standing up and retrieving my things. They all protested for a minute or two and it took me a while to convince them, mostly Ella, that I had to go. Eventually though they all said goodbye and I was able to make my escape. I couldn't get involved with those people. What if I ended up actually liking them and becoming friends with them? It would just hurt even more when we are forced to move again. And what about Fang? There was something about him that just gave me goose bumps. Every time I looked into his eyes I got a strange warm feeling in my lower abdomen that seemed to spread to every place in my body. No! I didn't need that kind of trouble; right now I just needed to focus on surviving high school. I would learn how to float, or in my case, I would learn how to fly.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Maximum Ride characters, all of that is owned by the wonderful James Patterson**

**Reviews and Favorites are welcomed :)**

**Chapter 3**

"Oh Fang!" I moaned breathlessly. Fang didn't respond, just kept going, his tongue slid slowly all over my skin leaving goose bumps. I could feel him working his way back up from my stomach to my chest where he stopped to nip each of my breasts with his teeth making me arch my back and moan with pleasure.

"Don't stop!" I pleaded. I could feel him smirking into my skin as he continued his way up my body, his tongue traveled up from my chest to my neck where he bit down softly. I rolled my head to the side to give him better access to my neck and he hungrily took advantage of the opportunity by beginning to bite harder and suck on my pulse point. My hands became possessed causing my fingers to tangle up in his hair and press his head harder into my neck. He moaned quietly breaking away from my neck to finally move to my lips. His lips were so close to mine, only about an inch away. I wanted him so badly, I wanted to feel his lips on mine, wanted to massage his tongue with my own. He slowly moved forward…..

"BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP!"

I groaned and rolled over hitting the snooze button on my alarm clock. 6am was too early to be waking up for school.

"Oh shit!" I gasped. The dream from last night had finally come back to me, the feel of Fangs hands moving all along my body, the pleasure from his tongue sliding up my torso. I held back a moan from the memory of the dream; it had seemed so real and vivid. I shook my head trying to erase the dirty thoughts running through my head. I couldn't believe that I had dreamed about Fang like that, it was totally embarrassing. I needed a shower, a cold one. I got up slowly grabbing clothes out of my drawers and quietly tip-toed to the bathroom, all the other kids didn't have to get up for another hour, lucky them. I slipped into the bathroom and turned on the shower to the coldest temperature it would go. After stripping down I decided to study myself in the mirror. I frowned at my reflection; I wasn't anything super special; I was tall with long tan legs and small strong arms. My stomach was mostly flat with only a small amount of fat, my hips were curvy and soft, and my breasts were nice and round, I was average. I stopped staring and hopped into the shower. I gritted my teeth instantly trying to hold in a scream of pure torture, the water really was freezing, but it kept my mind off of Fang, and all the dirty things I wish he would do to me.

By the time I got to school all my impure thoughts had been safely locked into a box and I was ready to focus on anything except Fang. I was walking down the hallway when I heard someone behind me speak.

"Hey, you know all of your friends are the other way." I immediately stiffened at the sound of his voice in my ear. Of course it was Fang; I blushed at the thought of him being so close to me, memories of the dream returning to the front of my mind.

"I want to go to class, I'll see my friends at lunch." I responded picking up my pace slightly hoping he would leave.

"Why do you try so hard to avoid us?" he asked me suddenly. I stopped walking and turned to stare at him.

"I'm not trying to avoid you guys, I think you guys are great." I responded sheepishly. His eyes studied mine for a couple of seconds.

"Even me?" he whispered placing his hand on my waist. My eyes widened and I felt another blush creep up my neck and onto my cheeks. I could feel my heart start to race in my chest; it felt as if my heart was going to explode.

"Come on Max, tell me the truth." he added. He started to pull me into him, his hand snaking around to my lower back. My mouth opened but no sound came out, I was feeling weird, very weird. I wasn't sure if I wanted him to kiss me or not, my body definitely wanted him to, but I wasn't sure my heart did. I could feel heat and electricity stemming from where Fangs hand rested on my back.

"I…I…" I stuttered uselessly. His whole body was now pressed against mine causing a pleasurable warmth to spread throughout my limbs, I couldn't even breathe I was so nervous. I wanted him so badly.

"I have to go." I said pushing him away from me, finally getting in a breath of air. My heartbeat was still racing as I turned away from him and practically ran down the hallway to my classroom.

* * *

I spent the rest of my morning in silence. I was so confused. Clearly Fang wanted me or else he wouldn't have pulled that stunt in the hallway. It was so aggressive yet non-forceful and part of me really loved it and part of me really hated it. I knew I couldn't face him during lunch so I made a plan to sneak into the library and spend my lunch period in there. As soon as the lunch bell rang I ran to the library finding an empty love-seat in the corner away from the entrances. I made sure that no one could find me if they came in looking for me, the corner was so secluded I doubt many people even knew it was here, actually if I was being honest, I doubt many people even came to the library, half of the druggies in this school probably couldn't even read.

I pulled a random book off the shelf and settled into the chair, curling my feet up underneath me and leaning my elbow on the arm. I had gotten no more than 30 pages when I was interrupted.

"I hate to break it to you but the girl dies in the end." I sighed irritably, rolling my eyes and looked up. In front of me stood one of the most gorgeous guys I had ever seen. He was golden tan with dirty blonde hair that was neatly combed. He was tall and muscular but not so much so that it was disgusting, it was just right, his lips were utterly kissable, and his eyes were gorgeously blue, but not just any kind of blue, an aquamarine blue, the color of tropical waters. He was stunning.

"Sorry, hi, I'm Dylan." he said putting out his hand for me to shake.

"Max." I managed to reply before reaching out and shaking his hand, his grip was firm and strong. He smiled at me revealing perfectly straight white teeth.

"Sorry about the spoiler alert." he said, "I just figured I'd warn you before you got too involved."

"You really should tag your spoilers." I teased him.

"So what's Max short for? Maxine?" he asked sitting down next to me on the loveseat.

"It's short for Maximum." I grimaced. I loved my name, a lot, but it often threw other people for a loop, after all, who names their child Maximum? He nodded slowly at me.

"I was adopted when I was just a kid and Jeb, the guy who adopted me, told me I could pick my own name and after weeks of thinking I finally decided on Maximum, Max for short." I explained. Usually I didn't bother explaining my name to people, most of the time I didn't even give them my real name, just agreed to Maxine, but something about this guy made me want to tell him the truth.

"No, it's okay, you don't have to explain, honestly I think your name is cool, and for some odd reason I have the strange feeling that it suit you, Maximum." he teased giving my shoulder a soft nudge with his. I smiled at him gratefully.

"So what are you doing back here? I thought this school was full of idiots?" I asked.

"Well you're not the only one who likes to read, and clearly you haven't looked around long enough if you think we're all idiots, although to be honest most of us are." he joked, his voice dipping to a whisper. I laughed out loud, my voice echoing off of the dusty pages.

The bell rang loudly causing my laughter to taper off. I started rushing to put my books back into my back pack.

"Sorry I have to get to class, I can't be late." I apologized. He frowned slightly seeming disappointed.

"Well, will I see you again?" he asked me solemnly.

"I'll meet you back here tomorrow, same time, same place." I told him quickly.

"Alright, I'll see you then Maximum." he said, causing me to smile. He picked himself up and vanished between the bookshelves. He was so perfect, so sweet and funny and kind and I loved that he called me Maximum.

Finally I finished packing and ran off to my next class, but it wasn't until I had settled myself in my seat that I realized that I had been hoping that Fang would be the one to find me.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Maximum Ride characters, all of that is owned by the wonderful James Patterson**

**Reviews and Favorites are welcomed :)**

**Chapter 4**

"Where have you been the last couple of days?" Ella asked me as I sat down at the lunch table. This was my first time here since that day I had met Dylan in the library. The only two reasons why I was sitting there with them was because one, I knew Fang wouldn't be there with them, and two, Dylan couldn't meet me for lunch.

"I've just been busy." I told her nonchalantly. I could feel Iggy studying me.

"Bullshit! You're totally lying, where have you been going during lunch?" he suddenly blurted out. I narrowed my eyes at him.

"How did you know I was lying?" I asked him skeptically. Iggy smirked at me.

"Being blind has certain advantages, like being able to tell when someone is lying." I opened my eyes wide at him, could he actually tell I was lying by the sound of voice? Could he hear my heart beat?

"And you just admitted to lying." he added laughing loudly. I stared at him dumbfounded then started laughing too. Ella shushed us, rolling her eyes at our immaturity.

"Alright you got me." I told them, managing to quiet my laughter.

"So what have you been doing?" Ella asked me pointedly. I hesitated for a second but I saw no reason to lie to them and I didn't want to break their trust in me, after all they were some of the few friends I had at this school.

"I've been hanging out in the Library during lunch." I told them, shrugging.

"That's it?" Ella asked. I bit my lip stalling.

"Well, I've kind of been hanging out with this guy I met, he seems pretty cool, really sweet and funny, sort of a jock." I explained. Ella squealed with delight, clapping her hands together in excitement.

"Is he cute? Do I know him? What's his name?" she asked quickly, it took me a second to figure out what she had said she was talking so fast.

"I don't know if you know him but his name is Dylan, and yes, he's really cute." I said with a huge grin on my face. I couldn't help it, Dylan just made me smile. When I looked at Ella her mouth was open in a perfect o.

"What, does he have a girlfriend? Is he gay?" I asked, my hysteria rising.

"No, no, no, nothing like that." she told me quickly allowing me to breathe properly.

"Then what is it?" I asked her.

"Well, um, it's just, well, see…"

"Fang hates Dylan." Iggy said interrupting Ella. Ella looked down at her hands trying her best to ignore the situation.

"Why?" I directed at Iggy. He shrugged.

"You'll have to ask Fang, he should tell you himself." Iggy responded. I groaned in frustration.

"Well it doesn't matter if Fang likes him or not because I like him." I told him. Then suddenly realizing what I said I tried to backtrack.

"I mean I don't like him like that, I mean we're just friends, he is cute but I don't know him that well, we're just friends." I added hastily.

"No need to get all defensive Max, we get it." Ella whispered, finally rejoining the conversation. She patted my hand softly. I'm sure she meant it to be comforting but it just irritated me. I rolled my eyes at both of them.

"You know I forgot to tell you earlier but Fang feels really bad about what happened in the hallway the other day." she said. I looked up at her shocked, this time my mouth becoming a perfect o. How did they know about that? Did Fang tell them? Why did he feel bad? Iggy shushed her and then began to explain.

"Fang told us after it happened, he felt bad for coming onto you like that, especially so strongly, that's why he hasn't been around much lately, he's trying to give you space, he really doesn't want to ruin anything between you guys." he said with a shrug. I was still in shock.

"So….does that mean he like…..I don't know….likes me or something?" I stuttered.

"Who knows, maybe yes, maybe no, you're going to have to ask him." he told me. I really started to hyperventilate then. I couldn't handle the idea of Fang liking me because I knew a part of me really liked him too but I didn't need a relationship, I needed to focus on taking care of Nudge, and Gazzy, and Angel, they were still having a hard time with the move. So what if the idea of his lips on mine gave me goose bumps? I was going to have to get over that, or maybe I could just kiss him, just once, or maybe twice.

"Shit Ella." I heard Iggy say, but his voice seemed very far away. All I could focus on was my rapid heartbeat and lack of breath.

"Max! Max! You need to relax." was the last thing I heard before I blacked out.

* * *

Let me tell you, passing out sucks, especially if you're like me and you pass out from your anxiety giving you a panic attack. It's not at all like the movies; you don't just fade to black and then wake up in some comfortable room with cute doctors looking in on you. No, when you're me and you pass out you dream, and not just any kind of dream, crazy dreams, like being on acid, it would be fun if it wasn't so freaky. And I don't get to wake up to a cute doctor; instead I wake up to some fat nurse clapping her hands around my ears.

"What the hell!" I yelled bolting up and covering my ears.

"Watch yourself, missy" the fat nurse told me walking away with a clipboard. She had the nerve to tell me to watch it? She was the one trying to make me deaf!

I groaned and sat up slowly rubbing my head looking for a lump, luckily there didn't seem to be one. I was so distracted by looking for a bump that I didn't notice someone come into the room. It wasn't until they sat down on the cot with me that I even looked up.

"Oh." I gasped when my eyes met steely grey ones, it was Fang.

"Hey, how's your head?" he asked softly reaching up to feel the back of it. Without thinking I leaned into his touch.

"Good, I don't think I hit it on anything when I passed out." I whispered. He nodded at me, his eyes dark with worry. He seemed different in here with me, more vulnerable and soft, like a whole different Fang.

"I just wanted to say personally that I'm sorry about what I did in the hallway, I got a little overzealous and I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable or nervous." he whispered back to me.

"It's okay, I was just caught off guard is all." I hadn't noticed it until now but during our conversation I had been slowly leaning towards him, part of me said it was because I wanted to hear him better, but most of me knew the real reason why.

"I'm not an animal, I can control myself if you want me to, just say the word Max." he said softly. My lips moved closer to his, there was only about two inches between us now, my head began to tilt.

"Maybe I don't want you." I breathed. His lips were so close now. He sharply drew a breath then began titling his head as well. I closed my eyes and felt his lips graze mine.

"MAX!"

I jerked back so fast at the sound of my name coming from the doorway, it was Jeb. He looked at me disapprovingly then glared at Fang.

"The nurse called, I'm here to take you home." he said sharply. I just nodded at him completely dazed. He already had my backpack in his hand so there was nothing left for me to do but get up and follow him.

At the doorway I glanced back at Fang, he looked slightly disappointed but had a small smile on his face.

"Maybe we can finish that kiss some other time." he said with a slight smirk. I looked down at the floor blushing hard.

"Yeah." I agreed, walking out of the room and following Jeb to the car. It was going to be a long ride home.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Maximum Ride characters, all of that is owned by the wonderful James Patterson**

**Reviews and Favorites are welcomed :)**

**Chapter 5**

Nothing is more awkward than getting the sex talk from your adoptive father. Nothing. I thought Jeb was going to have a heart attack the whole time he was talking. I guess it helped that he's scientist because then he could put it all in medical terms. He went over the basics, you know insert Tab A into Slot B, blah blah blah, but then he decided to go over the statistics of teens who get pregnant and develop all sorts of nasty diseases, and as soon as he started talking about my fertility, I tuned him out, it was gross, and not to mention weird.

I guess it was good practice for him, after all he was eventually going to need to have the sex talk with Nudge, and Gazzy, and Angel, I mean they weren't going to stay kids forever. And maybe when he talked with them his face wouldn't be so red and he wouldn't mumble so much.

You know Jeb was really overreacting, I mean did he really need to be giving me the sex talk because I almost had a kiss in the nurses office and he had walked in on it. It's not like I hadn't kissed other guys before, there were some mediocre kisses, and most of them from the guy I dated about two schools back named Sam.

"Are you listening Max?" Jeb asked. I snapped out of my daze and looked at him.

"Yeah, no sex, ever, got it." I replied sarcastically. Jeb rolled his eyes at me.

"Don't get smart Max, I'm only looking out for you." Jeb said exasperatedly.

"I know Jeb, but I think I can handle this." I told him. He nodded at me and left my room. Thank God, I thought finally taking a breath since I had arrived home. Nothing could get more awkward than that. That was probably going to be one of the most painful experiences I'd ever have, but of course, karma had to prove me wrong.

* * *

Fang found me while I was at my locker getting my textbook for first block

"Hey Max." he said.

"Hey." I replied turning around, I'm sure Fang had some things to say about our kiss getting cut short.

"How are you? You didn't get in trouble with your dad or anything did you?" he asked me. I blinked at him surprised, that was not at all what I thought he was going to say.

"Um yeah, Jeb, I mean my dad, just talked with me a little but that was it, he didn't get mad or anything, I mean I'm sixteen almost seventeen, what's he going to do about it." I said with a shrug.

"Oh, well in that case, do you think we could finish what we started yesterday?" Fang asked me, the bravado creeping back into his voice.

"I don't know if it's a good idea." I grimaced at him.

"You thought it was a good idea yesterday." he pointed out.

"Well yeah but that was after I had passed out, I wasn't exactly in my right mind." I retorted, my voice dripping with attitude.

"Or maybe you were." Fang answered me, unintimidated by my harshness. He took a step closer to me making me press my back against the lockers. This scene was beginning to seem all too familiar, only this time, I wasn't sure I wanted to run away to class. He started leaning in towards me causing me to draw in a sharp breath. I stared at him wide eyed. He was getting even closer now.

"Hey Maximum!" I heard someone call out. I looked sharply to the left and saw Dylan, he had come to my rescue, or ruined a moment, I wasn't sure yet.

"You okay?" he asked me concernedly.

"Yeah." I told him sliding past Fang once again.

"Who's Maximum?" I heard Fang ask irritably. I looked at him and noticed that he seemed a bit confused and very angry, and then I remembered Iggy's warning that Fang hated Dylan, a lot.

"She's Maximum," replied Dylan, "Didn't you know that?" he asked Fang. Fang just stared at him.

"I thought you would know more about her considering how close you were to her just then." he added. Fang bristled immediately.

"How do you know her anyway?" Fang asked him, the hostility and loathing in his voice unmistakable.

"We spend our Lunch period together." Dylan said smugly. I could see this little conversation turning into a huge brawl so I stepped in between them, one of my palms on each of their chests.

"Come on guys relax, everything is fine okay." I tried to reason, I looked around and noticed a crowd had begun to gather around us, trying to see what would happen next.

"Why don't you stay out of it _Maximum_." Fang told me with such venom in his voice that I immediately dropped my hand and fell back.

"Hey why don't you leave her alone man!" Dylan told him, his voice rising steadily.

"Just get out of here Pretty Boy. No one wants you around, especially not her." Fang said through gritted teeth, taking an aggressive step towards Dylan.

"If she doesn't want me around then why does she always spend lunch with me? I'm pretty sure it's to avoid you." Dylan hissed taking a step and closing the gap between them.

I just stared at them open mouthed, I didn't want to try and get involved again, not with them so close together like that, I just couldn't believe they were fighting about me.

"It's about time I taught you a lesson Hollister." Fang said giving Dylan a strong push on his chest causing him to fall back a few steps.

"'Bout time I taught you some manners, Vamp." Dylan threatened, cracking his knuckles and advancing on Fang. The crowd had thickened and tightened around us.

"Guys stop!" I yelled in a last minute effort to make them quit fighting, but I was too late.

Fang threw the first punch; the crowd went wild, screaming and whooping. The punch hit Dylan right on his jaw. Dylan was quick to react; he took the punch smoothly then landed a low blow to Fangs stomach. Fang doubled over with pain then surprised Dylan with a quick punch to his eye which Dylan avoided easily.

"Come on Fang, I know you can do better than that." he taunted.

Fang faked a punch to Dylan's nose and managed to sneak in a strong hit to Dylan's chest, knocking him back a few steps. Dylan smirked and moved fast managing to get in a strong punch to Fang's jaw. I couldn't take it anymore!

"STOP!" I yelled throwing myself in the middle of the fight. Fang had already started moving before I got in the middle of them and there was nothing he could do to stop his momentum. He ended up punching me right in my right side, by my ribs. Stupid! I thought. I was so stupid!

Immediately I let out a scream of pain and lurched over holding my right side where Fang had punched me.

All the people surrounding us stopped cheering and stood dead silent.

"Oh my God Maximum, are you alright, how hurt are you, can you speak?" Dylan asked me crouching down to my level. I nodded at him trying to keep the tears from falling; Fang could really pack a punch.

"Look what you did you psycho!" Dylan yelled at Fang who just stood above me looking shocked at what he had done.

"I…..I didn't mean to." he stuttered, his voice sounding detached.

"I'm fine." I told them through gritted teeth. I stood up shakily trying to regain my balance; I leaned on the lockers for support. The pain in my side was sharp and throbbing. I needed and ice-pack ASAP or this was going to become one ugly bruise.

"No, you're not; I'll take you to the nurse." Dylan said softly grabbing a hold of my arm.

"Max, I'm so sorry, Max I didn't mean to, I'm so sorry, so incredibly sorry, please forgive me, I never wanted you to get hurt, I'm so sorry Max." Fang said desperately. His voice was full of tears.

"It's okay." I told him.

"No it's not okay, he hurt you, and he should be locked up." Dylan said starting to lead me away.

"Will you let go!" I yelled at him. "This is both of your faults, if you would have just stopped fighting when I said to, I wouldn't have had to intervene and I would have never gotten hit." Dylan dropped my arm looking shocked. Fang just stared at me sadly looking so devastated.

"Why don't you both just do me a favor and leave me alone!" I yelled at them. They both turned to look at the floor, avoiding eye-contact with me and each other.

"Scatter!" I screamed at the crowd and they immediately rushed off to their next classes leaving just us three standing in the hallway. I looked at them angrily.

"You guys are both ridiculous." I told them before hobbling off to the nurse's office for an ice-pack, my side throbbing.

And just the other day I had thought that Jeb's sex talk was going to be the most painful experience of my life, I was definitely wrong.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Maximum Ride characters, all of that is owned by the wonderful James Patterson**

**Reviews and Favorites are welcomed :)**

**Chapter 6**

The rest of that day sucked even worse, I didn't want to take the chance of going back to the nurse's office and having her call Jeb again. Last thing I needed was to explain why I had a giant bruise on my side, and if he found out it was because Fang had punched me, all hell would break loose.

"Hey kid." I whispered to the boy sitting next to me. I was in the middle of Math class trying to get the kids attention next to me while the teacher droned on and on about something unimportant.

"What?" he asked me, giving me his full attention.

"I'll pay you twenty bucks to do something for me." I told him hurriedly. His eyes widened at me.

"I'll do anything you want me to baby." he whispered to me. I rolled my eyes at him.

"Chill out kid, I just need you to go to the nurse to get me an ice-pack." I explained. He looked at me confused.

"But I can only get an ice-pack if I'm injured." he told me. I groaned.

"You want me to give you an injury or are you going to do this for me and take the twenty bucks?" I asked him sarcastically. I gulped.

"Su…sure…" he stuttered.

"Now!" I commanded him. He immediately looked to the front and raised his hand as high as he could.

Twenty minutes later I had my ice-pack.

* * *

By the time I got home I already had a giant bruise. I pulled up my shirt and turned to the side, checking myself out in the full-length mirror. I sucked in my breath at the sight. The bruise went from just under my right breast to almost the end of my ribs. The center of the bruise was a dark purple fading out to a deep blue and then a green and lastly an ugly yellow. It was going to take weeks to fade away. Luckily it was fall so I could easily hide it from Jeb and my siblings, as long as they didn't touch my right side.

"Hey Max." I heard someone call outside my door, scaring me and causing me to jump about three feet in the air.

"Coming!" I yelled; I rushed to pull my shirt down, making sure I was completely covered.

I opened the door quickly trying to look as innocent as possible, but it was just Nudge.

"What's up?" I asked her, trying not to sound annoyed.

"Well I wanted to know if you wanted to come see a movie and get dinner with me, and Jeb, and Gazzy, and Angel, were going to go see that new kids movie that looks really cute but not as childish as the other ones and I think it will be fun and I just want to know if you want to come along, it could be fun and I know how much you love chocolate chip cookies and we could buy you some at…" Nudge told me not even pausing to take a breath while she talked.

"That's okay Nudge, it's Friday and I just want to spend some time at home relaxing, you guys go and have fun though." I said interrupting her for the millionth time. She frowned at me, looking sad.

"Oh, okay." she said walking slowly away from my door.

"Next time I will go for sure, I promise." I called after her. She turned around and smiled at me looking grateful.

"And maybe one day we can go shopping, just you and me." I added. Her smile grew even bigger and she nodded at me, giving me a thumbs up before running off to catch up with the rest of the family.

I went back in my room and waited for them to drive away before migrating to the living room for some mind numbing T.V.

Before settling myself on the couch I grabbed a bag of peas from the fridge and held the bag to my bruised side, gritting my teeth at the cold.

Finally I managed to settle on the couch and get comfortable, the peas numbing the pain in my side. I had on some stupid show that made no sense, it just seemed like a bunch of girls sitting around complaining and drinking.

I had just started nodding off to sleep when the doorbell rang. I sat up, instantly awake. Who the hell would be at my house at this time of day? It was almost eight at night, Jeb and the family wouldn't be home for another two hours. I groaned and got up to answer the door, leaving the cold bag of peas sitting on the couch.

I opened the door to find Dylan standing on my porch looking sheepish and guilty.

"Wha….What are you doing here?" I asked him, looking shocked.

"I'm sorry for just showing up like this Maximum I just wanted to make sure you were okay after what happened today." he explained.

"Oh well, um, why don't you come in?" I asked him stepping out of the way and holding the door open for him. He stared at me for a second looking for my approval so I nodded at him and he walked inside slowly, I closed the door behind him.

"So how are you?" he asked me again.

"I'm fine." I told him leading him to the couch to sit down. He immediately sat down next to me, close, but not to close.

"He hit you right here right?" he questioned, taking the chance to run his hand so softly across my right side. His fingers were as soft as feathers against my ribs.

"Yeah, but it'll be fine, I just have to ice it a lot." I told him, willing him to keep his fingers on me, it felt incredible.

"You know I really am sorry Maximum, I should have never gotten into that fight with Fang, it kills me that you got hurt, you're so important to me and I can't live with myself knowing that you got hurt because of me." he whispered to me. He sounded so sad and his voice held such emotion that I couldn't help myself.

"It's okay, I forgive you, and you're important to me too." I whispered back, placing my hand softly on his face. He leaned in towards my touch and his hand moved from my side to my right hip where his grip became firmer.

"I…I think I love you Maximum." he spoke so softly I almost didn't hear him.

"I think I might love you too." I whispered back. Form there everything moved in slow motion.

His hand tightened on my hip and his face moved slowly towards mine. I leaned in as well, my lips quivering in anticipation. His eyes closed and so did mine and before I knew it his lips were on mine. They felt so soft against my lips, he moved slowly at first, making sure that I was comfortable with everything, but I wanted more. I wrapped both of my arms around his neck and pulled him into me, kissing him hungrily.

He moaned quietly against my lips wrapping his hand in my hair pulling softly. I gasped at the gentle pull from his hand in my hair and he took the opportunity to slide his tongue into my mouth. I moaned into his mouth as his tongue explored mine. My tongue fought back for dominance, taking a chance to explore the inside of his mouth. He tasted like summer rain.

Dylan pushed against my chest with his own causing me to lie back on the couch. He settled comfortably between my legs, never breaking the kiss. His hand released its hold on my hair and ran all along my left side. His touch was so delicate and soft and sweet. He broke away from my lips moving onto my neck, giving it soft kisses. I moaned a little louder causing Dylan to groan and bite down gently on my neck. I nipped at his ear playfully, causing him to moan louder.

I could feel his excitement through his pants, against my thigh. He wanted me, and I wanted him.

I tugged on the hem of his shirt and he quickly got the hint sitting up and pulling it off, but before he could go back to kissing my neck I surprised him by stripping off my shirt as well. His eyes paused, roaming over every inch of my smooth skin, stopping for a couple of seconds to appreciate the firm roundness of my breasts as the pushed against my bra. I ran my hands along the smoothness of his chest making him close his eyes and groan with pleasure.

"Oh Maximum." he moaned. I smiled at him and pulled his lips back to mine. I shimmied up slightly trying to stretch out further on the couch. He ran his lips down my chest, teasing the top of my breasts with his tongue, he nipped one firmly between his teeth, my back arched instantly and I slid up even further on the couch.

"Shit!" I yelped. Dylan froze instantly.

"What is it? Did I hurt you? Is it your side?" he asked quickly, sitting up and looking over me to make sure everything was okay.

"Yeah." I told him sitting up; I reached behind my back and pulled away the bag of peas that I had left on the couch. When I slid up trying to stretch out I had caught the cold bag of peas with my shoulder and it had shocked me, causing me to yell out.

"It was just this." I said showing him the bag of peas, "I'm sorry I ruined the moment." I told him sadly. He placed his hand on my bare shoulder, smiling.

"I'm just happy we had a moment to ruin, and hopefully we'll have another one soon." he told me grinning. I smirked at him and landed a soft kiss on his lips.

"Something tells me there's going to be plenty of other moments like this." I teased him.

"I should go though, I really only came to make sure you were okay, my dad is probably waiting for me at home." he explained.

"Okay." I said handing him his shirt and putting mine back on. We were silent as we fixed ourselves, making ourselves presentable. Finally I led him to the front door. I opened it letting in cold air from outside.

"Don't forget, I love you Maximum." he whispered planting a kiss on my lips. I blushed, looking at the ground smiling.

"I love you too Dylan." I answered. He kissed me one more time and then left, walking out the door and down the sidewalk.

I closed the door behind him and smiled, closing my eyes and reveling in the memory of his lips on mine.

I checked the time, my family would be home soon, and so I walked back to the couch, picked up the peas and placed them back into the fridge. I climbed the stairs and lay on my bed smiling at the ceiling. The smile dropped almost instantly, I had forgotten about something important while Dylan was here.

Fang.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Maximum Ride characters, all of that is owned by the wonderful James Patterson**

**Reviews and Favorites are welcomed :)**

**Chapter 7**

I sat on my bed awhile thinking about Fang. I had forgiven Dylan, so shouldn't I forgive him too? I mean sure he was the one who threw the punch that hit me but it wasn't his fault, I had gotten in the way, it was my fault.

And what was I going to do about Dylan? I wasn't sure I loved him, I mean sure I was attracted to him but that was lust, not love. I just got so caught up in the moment and responded, and I think maybe it was a mistake. I mean just a couple days ago I wanted to kiss Fang, but then I end up kissing Dylan. What is wrong with me?

I made my decision quickly, I would forgive Fang, and I wanted to tell him in person. I decided that tomorrow I would go over to his house and make him speak to me, whether he liked it or not.

* * *

When my family came home they were still talking excitedly about the movie they had seen. Something about a girl and a quest, I think Angel kept mentioning magic. I stood there and listened to them and offered all the right comments and observations, but my heart wasn't in it. Jeb seemed to notice my mood and told the others to leave me alone for the night. They complied, but not without several grumbles under their breath.

"Thanks Jeb" I called out. He nodded at me and continued walking to his room.

"Goodnight Max." he whispered shutting his door for the night.

* * *

"Morning everyone!" I said brightly as I walked into the kitchen the next morning. A chorus of good mornings echoed back to me.

"Well you seem awfully chipper today." Nudge said eyeing me suspiciously.

"What can I say, for once I'm a morning person." I told her, shrugging my shoulders.

"Yeah, for once." Gazzy mumbled under his breath. I narrowed my eyes at him but he just smiled at me, acting all innocent.

"Okay, I can see I'm not welcomed here so I'm leaving, I'll see you all later." I said, trying halfheartedly to walk out of the kitchen without anyone stopping me.

"Not so fast Max." Jeb called out. I groaned and rolled my eyes, turning around to face him.

"Where are you going? Who are you going to see?" he asked me seriously.

"Oh relax Jeb, I'm just going to see my friend Iggy, we have a science project to finish." I reassured him. I hoped he wouldn't notice the fact my voice cracked a little during my flat out lie.

"I guess that's okay. Just don't do anything stupid okay Max?" he begged me. I looked at him for a second; he really seemed worried about me.

"I won't" I promised seriously. He went back to cooking breakfast and I used that opportunity to make my escape.

* * *

Fangs house wasn't very far from mine, only about a thirty minute walk. Luckily it was a nice day so I didn't mind the walk.

And if you're wondering how I know where Fang lives, let's just say Ella isn't very quiet about her personal life with Iggy.

I arrived there around eleven, walking right up to the front door and pausing. I didn't know what would happen after I knocked, but I knew I had to try. So I sucked in a breath, closed my eyes, and knocked hard.

I waited for what seemed like a millennium but soon I heard someone coming down the stairs towards the door. I took a step back and tried to look presentable. The door opened.

"Whoever it is, just know I have a bat hidden somewhere in this house and I'm not afraid to use it." yelled someone from behind the door.

"Hey Iggy, it's me, Max." I told him stifling a laugh at his outrageous door opening response.

"Oh hey Max, what are you doing here?" he asked me, finally stepping out from behind the door and motioning for me to come into the house.

"I actually came to see Fang, is he here?" I inquired. Iggy paused, I could tell he didn't want to respond, he finished shutting the door and then he spoke.

"He's here, but he's not really up for visitors." he told me, choosing his words carefully.

"It will only take a second, you can just tell him I snuck past you." I offered. Iggy grimaced at me, thinking hard about what to do.

"Come on Iggy, pleeeeaaase, I have to make things right." I begged him. I shook his head.

"Fine, but tell him I at least put up a fight." he told me, walking away from me.

"You have yourself a deal." I called out behind him. When he was out of sight I turned towards the stairs and started taking them two at a time.

I got to the top of the hallway and swung a right, three rooms down I finally came to a door painted completely black, immediately I knew it was Fang's.

I knocked loudly twice.

There was no answer.

I knocked again.

Still no answer.

Finally I got so irritated that without thinking I just grabbed the door handle and walked in.

The first thing I thought upon walking in was, dark. The shades were closed and the curtains were drawn tight, blocking out all sunlight. The walls were painted a dark grey, giving the room and even more depressed feel. My eyes skirted over the bed and noticed the black covers and black sheets. After looking a little closer I realized there was a person still wrapped up in those sheets.

"Go away Iggy, I don't want anything." a voice mumbled.

"It's not Iggy." I told the body.

The person sat up and turned around to look at me, eyes widening in shock.

"Where's Iggy?" he asked me, slightly anxious.

"He tried to stop me but I managed to get past him." I explained, quickly remembering my deal with Iggy.

Fang just stared at me in shock; it was almost like he thought I wasn't really there, just a crazy dream, or maybe a nightmare.

"We need to talk Fang." I whispered coming to sit beside him on the bed. He shook his head fast scooting away from me, pressing up against the wall. I looked at him, really looked at him and truly noticed how bad he looked. His hair was greasy and limp, his eyes looked dead, and he had dark circles under his eyes.

"Are you okay?" I whispered, reaching out to place my hand on his knee. He flinched from my touch.

"Max, I need you to leave." Fang told me, trying hard not to look at me.

"Fang, I just want you to know I forgive you, it was an accident what happened and I don't blame you, it's not your fault." I explained to him, willing him to look at me.

"Max, I hurt you, I literally punched you, and how can I live with myself knowing I did that?" he spoke softly.

"I'm okay Fang, there's a bruise but it will heal, I don't want you to beat yourself up like this, I forgive you." I told him.

"How can you forgive me!" he suddenly yelled, rising from the bed and pacing the floor of his bedroom.

"Because you're a good person Fang! And I know you didn't mean to!" I yelled back standing up as well.

He didn't speak for a while, just kept pacing the floor, finally I just grabbed his arm with both of my hands and forced him to stop pacing and just look at me.

"I forgive you. Now you need to forgive yourself." I said softly. He looked into my eyes, his dark grey ones filled with such guilt and sadness.

"You're everything to me Max." he whispered placing his hand gently on my cheek.

"And I'm okay Fang. I need for you to forgive yourself." I said reaching up to hold his hand against my cheek. He stared into my eyes a little longer and then nodded.

"Good." I told him gently. He slowly removed his hand from my cheek and sat back down on his bed, I sat next to him. Neither one of us moved for the longest time, without thinking I laid my head on his shoulder. Fang inhaled sharply but didn't move away. Quietly he reached over and grabbed both of my hands, intertwining them with his. We both breathed softly, trying not to disturb the moment, neither one of us talking.

And that's how we stayed for a long, long time.


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Maximum Ride characters, all of that is owned by the wonderful James Patterson**

**Reviews and Favorites are welcomed :)**

**Chapter 8**

"Hey, how are you feeling?" I asked Fang the next morning. I came up beside him in the hallway just in time to see him quietly smile at the sound of my voice.

"Good." he answered quietly, bumping into my shoulder with his own softly.

"How's your side?" he asked me somberly.

"Perfectly swell." I answered, acting as cheerily as I could. Fang frowned at me and continued walking. I grabbed his arm and stopped him, forcing him to turn to me and look at me.

"We've been through this, I'm fine." I told him seriously. He nodded at me. We looked at each other for a second, studying each other. Then, before I could look away, he reached up, grabbing a piece of hair, and smoothed it behind my ear.

"Get off her!" I heard someone yell. I didn't even have time to glance around before I felt Fangs hand ripped away from the side of my face.

"What the fuck?!" I heard Fang yell in front of me.

"I said get off her." a voice said beside me, the voice sounded deadly and frightening. Finally I looked around to see who the hell this guy was picking a fight with me and Fang.

It was Dylan.

I took in the scene. Fang and Dylan were facing off, both of them standing tall, looking completely serious, and incredibly scary.

"Dylan, what are you doing?" I asked him, reaching out and tugging on his shirt sleeve, pulling him so we would look at me.

"I'm getting rid of this loser." he answered without looking at me.

"Come on he's not bothering me, we were just talking, everything is cool, just relax." I told him, my voice dripping with annoyance. Dylan looked at me at last, he studied me to see if I was bluffing and I stared back, proving I wasn't.

"She's telling the truth man, she came over to my house on Sunday, we talked, everything's cool dude." Fang told him, trying to calm the situation down. He stepped away from Dylan, sliding up beside me, his hands up in the universal "surrender" sign.

"Shut up Fang!" he whispered icily. His eyes had a look in them that put me on edge, he looked almost….dangerous, and not in a sexy way either, in a terrifying way.

"Is he telling the truth Maximum?" Dylan asked me. When he spoke to me his voice softened and he seemed almost caring.

"Yes, but, I had a good reason, I just wanted to make sure Fang was oaky, and I wasn't there that long, we didn't do anything bad, we talked and now everything's back to normal." I ranted on, sounding a lot like Nudge. I could feel Fang staring at me, after all, something had happened, I just wasn't sure what.

"Max let's go." I heard Fang whisper beside me. I was tempted to agree and walk away with him but I didn't want to just leave Dylan.

"Just go Maximum, I'll talk to you later, I'm glad you're okay." he said softly, the anger melting off of him causing him to return to the sweet guy I knew.

"Okay, I'll see you during lunch." I told him, reaching out to hug him. I guess something got confused in translation. I stepped towards him and wrapped my arms around his neck pulling him in for a good hug, his arms immediately wrapped around my waist and before I could move my face to the side of his neck he leaned in and kissed my lips softly.

I froze in surprise. Dylan didn't stop there. He tilted is head and deepened the kiss, attempting to kiss me hungrily. I kissed him back for a moment before remembering that Fang was behind us. I broke off the kiss suddenly and quickly stepped away from Dylan, blushing hard and frowning.

"Bye Maximum." Dylan said giving me a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Bye Fang." he said smugly walking past us and disappearing around the hall.

"Fang, I…" I started, I didn't get very far, I just didn't know what to say, how did I begin to explain that kiss to Fang.

"Just save it Max, if you want to be with him you can, I'm sure way deep down he's a great guy, let's just go to class." he said not meeting my eyes. I reached out to touch his arm but he flinched away and started walking down the hall. There was nothing I could do but follow him.

* * *

"Max, what the hell happened this morning with you and Fang and Dylan?" Ella said. Iggy was sitting next to her silently staring past me, you know because of the blindness, in case you're just clueing in now. We were eating lunch together, just the three of us. Fang has ditched the rest of school after our first block, and I chose to avoid Dylan, I didn't think I could look at him without feeling ashamed of myself.

"It's a long story." I told her trying to casually brush past it.

"Then enlighten us." Iggy said sharply, causing me to wince slightly.

I stared at them for a second, building up courage, then, taking a deep breath, I opened my mouth and allowed the words to spill past my tongue and over my lips. They listened without speaking and I felt some relief over finally spilling the beans on the situation.

"Well just so you know that kiss really hurt Fang." Ella said to me.

"Yeah, what Dylan did was shitty, but you made it worse by letting him kiss you, and kissing him back." Iggy told me.

"I know!" I practically yelled at them. I covered my face with my hands to hide my tears and keep them from falling.

"I feel horrible, Fang won't look me in the eyes and I can't look at Dylan without feeling ashamed. I didn't want to hurt either of them, especially not Fang." I explained.

"Well you kind of did this to yourself Max." Ella said slowly. I knew she was trying not to anger me, but that comment irritated me anyway.

"You know this would have never happened if they haven't been stupid and got into the fight in the middle of the hallway." I answered sharply.

"Well you could also argue that it would have never happened if you hadn't gotten in the middle of their fight, you should have just left it alone." Iggy retorted.

"Okay I get that Fang is your friend so you're going to take his side, but I'm your friend too. If every time I see you guys you're just going to berate me for my choices, then I won't stick around, in fact why don't I go now." I told them. I started to stand up, proving that I would actually leave.

"No Max come on stay, we don't have to talk about it, it's none of our business anyway." Ella said, reaching out to grab my wrist. I nodded and sat back down.

Iggy shook his head, I could tell he still wasn't happy with me, and to be honest I wasn't very happy with myself. Ella noticed his foul mood and gave him a soft kiss on the cheek. Iggy smirked and then proceeded to turn his head and kiss her full on the mouth. Ho he managed to kiss her lips with such accuracy while being blind I'll never know. I watched them kiss, they seemed to really love each other, but as soon as I saw tongues snaking in and out I looked away.

I got up; I didn't see any reason to stick around. They were going to be too involved in each other to talk to me and I knew Iggy didn't want to talk to me anyways. Fang was his brother, he was just looking out for him, and I would do the same thing for Nudge.

I just needed to get away from everyone.

So I did something I had never done before and will likely never do again.

I left.

I walked out of that school and not once did I look back.

* * *

**Sorry guys, I know this one isn't as good as the others, and it's definitely shorter, I've been busy with school and you know just life in general haha, but I'm gonna try to update every Sunday or before, thanks for all the reviews and favorites and such, you guys rock 3**


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Maximum Ride characters, all of that is owned by the wonderful James Patterson**

**Reviews and Favorites are welcomed :)**

**Chapter 9**

I decided to take the next day off. I didn't want to go to school and face the nightmare that was Fang and Dylan, so I did the next thing I thought I would never do. I lied straight to Jeb's face.

Long ago Jeb and I made a vow to never lie to each other. When he adopted me I was old enough to realize that he wasn't my real parents, that for all I know I was just some weird science experiment, a test-tube baby. Jeb sat down with me and we talked. He told me he was going to take me away from the place where the government was keeping me and that he would take care of me. I nodded, all strong and straight faced, and I didn't want him to see any sign of hope on my face.

When we reached his house I was immediately over whelmed by the cleanliness, everything looked immaculate, organized, and sterile, almost like a hospital. I was nervous and Jeb could see it as clear as day on my face.

"Hey." he said to me, trying to calm me down. "I know it looks scary, but I promise it's not. We're going to be happy here, and don't be afraid to mess things up." he winked at me. Slowly I walked forward and brushed my little fingers across the pillows.

"Go ahead." he said, "Mess them up." I stared at him then quickly grabbed a pillow and threw it to the other side of the couch. Jeb nodded at me to encourage me. I sat on the couch and bounced a little, causing little wrinkles to appear in the fabric.

"You can do better than that." he teased. By now I was smiling big. I stood up on the couch and jumped on it, dancing from one end to the other, leaping and bounding, I almost felt like I was flying, now there was an abundant of wrinkles and imprints and dips in the couch from my antics. At this point Jeb was laughing hard, I'm talking holding his belly and leaning over red-faced laughing. After about five minutes of flying I jumped off the couch and stood in front of Jeb. He kneeled down so he could look me in the eye.

"See, I would never lie to you, and I would hope that you would never lie to me, even if you get in trouble or do something bad, you can always tell me the truth okay?" he said softly to me. He looked so honest and sincere so I nodded.

"Yes sir." I told him. He frowned.

"Why don't you call me Jeb?" he asked me. I was nervous at calling him anything other than sir or mister, but he was being so kind to me, and he was adopting me so I agreed.

"Okay Jeb." I told him, stumbling a little over the name. He looked at me, it seemed like he was contemplating something.

"What would you like me to call you?" he questioned me. I was confused, he knew my name.

"Well at the place they called me…" I started.

"I know what they called you," he said, interrupting me, "but what would you like to be called."

I stared at him.

"You mean you want me to pick my own name?" I asked him. He nodded. My eyes immediately widened in surprise, I had never had an opportunity this great before, I was getting to pick the name that would stick with me for the rest of my life. I sat back on the couch and Jeb sat next to me. He was patient; I must have sat on that couch for an hour before finally turning to him.

"Maximum." I said, as clearly as I could. Jeb nodded.

"How about Max for short." I agreed quickly, I could live with Max.

"And your last name?" he prompted. By then I was really confused.

"Well wouldn't I just get your last name?" I probed. He shook his head.

"I figured you would want your own last name, your own personal identity." he explained. All of this seemed to make sense to me so I turned back to him quickly responded.

"Ride. Maximum Ride."

Anyway, that was the day I chose to never lie to Jeb, no matter how awkward or painful the truth would be. It was like our own personal agreement, I could always trust him and he could always trust me, which is why lying to him this morning would be so hard.

* * *

"What do you mean you don't have to go to school today?" he questioned me, clearly disbelieving.

"Well all of the students are going on a field trip that they organized way before we moved here so I couldn't get in on it. All of my teachers told me to stay home because there wouldn't be any teachers there, just subs. Seriously Jeb, they told me to stay home, and I'm just following orders." I could hear my own voice shaking but Jeb didn't seem to pick up on it, Nudge, who was sitting next to me caught it and stared at me, luckily she kept her loud mouth shut.

"I don't know Max, it sounds a little crazy." he said dubiously, still concentrating on making the younger kids lunch.

"I totally know Jeb, but it's true, they're going to some local job fair to see all the different jobs and stuff, if you want I'll give you my teachers number, she said you could call her if you didn't believe her." I bluffed. I started to get up, making it look like I was going to get the number. My voice was still shaking and for some reason it kept shifting pitch, going from high to low.

"Just sit down Max, its fine, just stay home and behave, I've got to go, and Nudge, you need to hurry, it looks like you're taking the bus." Jeb said, finalizing all of the lunches and packing his briefcase for work.

"Okay." Nudge said irritably. She walked past me, stomping the whole way.

"You owe me big time." she muttered under her breath, grabbing her backpack and walking out of the door to the bus stop. I winced sharply. I already had a sick feeling in my stomach from lying to Jeb, and an even worse feeling because he bought the cheap lie so easily, now Nudge was going to hold this over me as blackmail forever. It was too late for me to go back, I had already dedicated to the lie and I didn't want to hurt Jeb by telling him it was a lie. I had never lied to him before, and as far as I know I would never lie to him again, not if it made me feel like this.

Soon Jeb was out the door and I was all alone, it was quiet, amazingly quiet. I finally felt at peace. All week I had been feeling like the world's biggest slut, fooling around with Dylan, and then still initiating things with Fang. I was an idiot. To be truthful, I didn't want Dylan, I didn't want anyone, I definitely had feelings for Fang, and I knew I loved Dylan, but I wasn't in love with him, I just got confused. He came over and I was feeling vulnerable and he told me he loved me and he kissed me and I just got caught up in it all. Fuck, I'm such an idiot.

I spent the rest of the morning cleaning; I think I did it mostly to make myself feel better about lying to Jeb. I had just sat down on the couch after making the house immaculate, and yes, it's the same couch I jumped on when I arrived, all the kids did, it's kind of tradition at this point, when I heard the doorbell ring. I groaned and rolled my eyes. Who the hell would be at my house in the middle of the day, everyone should be at school. I figured it was just UPS or something so without thinking I opened the door wide.

It was Dylan.

"What the hell are you doing here?" I practically yelled at him.

"That's not the greeting I expected." he answered chuckling. He pushed past me into the house; I was too shocked at his sudden appearance to stop him.

"Um what _are_ you doing here?" I asked him again. He just smiled at me and closed the door.

"Well I came to see you of course Maximum." he joked, taking a step closer to me. I put my hand out to stop him.

"Well as you've seen me, so maybe you should go." I told him, gesturing to the door. Now he was frowning at me, his eyes once again taking on a dangerous edge.

"But Maximum, I came all this way to see you, I at least expect a kiss." he spoke seriously.

"That doesn't seem like a good idea." I said softly, backing away from him a little.

"Come on Maximum, you said you loved me, I just want a kiss from my love." Dylan said slowly advancing on me. I was starting to feel uncomfortable, my breath was getting shallow.

"I might have made a mistake." I told him sheepishly. I glanced up at him and his eyes darkened.

"What kind of mistake?" he questioned me, deadly quiet.

"It's just maybe I'm not as in love with you as I thought, actually I don't think I'm in love with you at all, I mean you were my first friend when I came here so I care about you but…" I spoke, breaking off.

"So you lied to me?" he said. He reached out and grabbed my bicep, squeezing it hard, it hurt immediately, I winced hard.

"Ouch, Dylan that hurts, let go." I begged him, trying to wrench my arm away. His grip just tightened.

"You lied to me!" he continued, his voice now rising to a yell. I flinched at the loudness of his voice, still attempting to yank my arm free.

"Yes, but I didn't mean to, I'm so sorry Dylan, I just got caught up in the moment, I'm so sorry, please let me go." I cried out, begging him to release me.

"You liar!" he screamed finally releasing my arm.

"I'm sorry, I'm so so sorry." I cried out, tears beginning to run down my face. He glared at me, his eyes focused and dangerous, I was scared, but I wanted him to know how sorry I was, maybe if he knew he would leave and we could pretend this never happened. I was wrong.

With no warning he reached out and shoved me, hard. The force of his push knocked me off balance and sent me flying back into the sharp edge of the small table behind the door. I cried out and fell to the floor sobbing.

"Maximum? Oh my god I'm so sorry!" I heard Dylan say above me. He knelt down to my level and wrapped his arms around me attempting to pull me into his chest, I was too scared to fight him, and I didn't want him to hurt me again. I let him pull me in as I sobbed, soon I felt his own tears dropping on my shoulder and hitting my arm. He was crying too.

After about an hour we had both stopped crying, he still held me, but we were quiet, no one spoke. Finally he let go of me and stood up.

"I've got to go, I'm so sorry Maximum, I love you, and I'll make this up to you I swear." he whispered to me as he walked quietly to the door. Without another word he walked out.

I pulled my legs up to my chest and leaned back against the wall, I sat there for a long time after, just remembering how to breathe.

* * *

**Okay so this one definitely got a little crazy, but ya'll craved updates and I was feeling a type of way haha, **** I figured you guys deserved an early treat for being awesome, so I gave you an early chapter haha, ****anyways I hope you guys enjoyed, thanks for following and favoriting and reviewing, it definitely keeps me writing more, fly on lovelies 3**


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Maximum Ride characters, all of that is owned by the wonderful James Patterson**

**Reviews and Favorites are welcomed :)**

**Chapter 10**

I didn't move from my bed for three days.

Every time I got up to pee, I peed blood. When Dylan shoved me the sharp edge of the table stabbed into the small of my back, right where my kidney is, ergo the blood. It was painful to move, I couldn't bend or stretch or twist. The combined pain from the bruise in my side and the bruise on my back made getting up from my bed even harder to do, so I didn't.

I refused to speak. Jeb came to check on me every day, confused by my lack of a voice. I didn't show any symptoms of strep throat or any other disease, I looked as healthy as ever, no cough, no sneezing, but I couldn't speak. He spoke to me and I just looked right past him without really seeing him. He just couldn't figure it out. He kept trying to get me to eat, but I wasn't hungry, I just lay in my bed, looking up at the ceiling, wondering where I went wrong while Jeb's worry grew.

On the fourth day he sent in Angel, knowing I wouldn't be able to resist talking to her.

"Maxie, why won't you speak?" she asked my softly, placing her small hand on my cheek. For the first time in over three days I focused on something other than the ceiling. Angel's eyes looked big and worried. They were sky blue and intelligent, making her look decades older than the seven. Her small blonde ringlets curled around her face and down her back, she looked, well, angelic.

"I'm sorry baby." I told her, placing my hand over hers on my cheek. My voice sounded raspy from not using it for three days.

"We miss you, are you okay?" she whispered, coming closer to me.

"Yeah baby, I'm okay, I miss you guys too." I told her, my voice cracking. Tears sprang to my eyes. I blinked them away.

"What's that on your back" she asked me. I looked at her shocked. How did she know about the bruise? I looked down and saw that my tank top had risen up and the bruise on my lower back was completely visible. I rushed to pull it down and safely cover the bruise.

"Nothing, don't worry about it sweetie, I'm okay" I told her gently, covering up my back with my blanket. She stared at me disbelieving.

"Who hurt you Maxie?" she asked me gently, reaching over to run her hand along my blanket, where my lower back was.

"No one honey, it was just an accident, and you can't tell Jeb about it, he'll just worry." I told her seriously, making her look back at me.

"You have to promise me you won't tell him." I told her, leaning up on my elbow. Angel looked out the window for a second, considering my request.

"I promise." she told me, "But only if you get up and go back to school." she added. I nodded at her, knowing I had no choice.

"Only for you baby." I said softly, reaching out and tousling her hair, making her little curls bounce gently. She smiled up at me turning back into a happy seven year old. I pushed off the covers and placed my feet on the ground, instantly flinching from the cold. I stood on shaky legs and took a slow step forward. Satisfied, Angel turned away from me and ran out of the room. I could hear her run into Jeb's room, hopefully just telling him that I was up and on my feet.

I turned to my dresser and grabbed my favorite pair of jeans; the skinny ripped ones that fit just right, and my most comfortable tee. I went to the bathroom and stared in shock at my face. The dark circles under my eyes were strongly defined, my hair was messy and knotted, and my lips were red and chapped. First I washed my face and used some concealer to cover my dark circles, then I put on my best chapstick to smooth my lips, lastly I ran a comb through my tangled hair, getting rid of all the knots and braiding it into a silky side braid.

Finally satisfied I turned and went downstairs, stopping at the end of the stairs to slip on my black sneakers. Jeb stopped me just before I walked out the door to go to school.

"Good to see you up Max." he said placing a hand on my shoulder. I smiled at him, but it felt fake.

"Good to be up Jeb." I responded quickly. Before I could step away he pulled me into a hug, the bone crushing kind. I flinched hard and managed to refrain from crying out as he presses against the bruises on my side and back. After what seemed like an eternity he let go and stepped back.

"I love you Max, have a good day." he added, patting me on the shoulder and walking back to the kitchen to tend to the other's needs.

"I love you too Jeb." I called out to him, opening the door and stepping out into the world.

* * *

The drive to school helped me clear my mind, I knew I was going to avoid Dylan at all costs, never speak to him again if possible. The only people I would trust were Ella, Iggy, and Fang.

Feeling better about my choices and myself I walked quickly to my locker, only to tense up in fear when I noticed something stuck on my locker.

It was a rose.

I immediately knew who it was that put it up there, Dylan. I opened my locker only to see a white slip of paper fall from the shelf of my locker to the floor. I winced and rolled my eyes, it was just a note.

I reached down and opened it, not surprised by what it said.

_I'm so sorry Maximum, I love you. -Dylan_

In a burst of anger I crumpled it up and threw it back in my locker, banishing it to the depths. I wanted nothing to do with Dylan, and if he thought a stupid rose and an even more stupid note would get him off the hook, he was dead wrong. He hurt me, he didn't deserve me, or my love.

I slammed my locker closed and ripped the rose off of the metal.

"Shit!" I yelled out as a thorn pricked my pointer finger. I looked down and noticed a drop of blood already starting to form.

"Don't like the gift from your boyfriend?" I heard someone ask behind me.

"Shut up Fang." I said not bothering to turn around.

"What? He is your boyfriend right?" he asked me sarcastically, coming around to the front of me. I glanced up at him slightly, still struck by the gorgeousness of his slivery grey eyes.

"No. He's not anything to me." I told him through gritted teeth, my anger and hatred apparent. Fang looked at me, I could tell he was surprised, yet he seemed almost relieved.

"You two have a lovers spat?" he remarked with mock caring. I glared at him.

"Just shut up Fang okay, he's dead to me, that's all you need to know." I stated to him, my voice dripping with venom. Fang immediately backed off and my attention went back to my pointer finger, which now had a large drop of blood on it, ready to fall at any second.

"What happened to your finger?" Fang asked me softly, he grabbed my hand gently and pulled it closer to look at it.

"Stupid thorn pricked it." I explained softly. Without speaking Fang lifted my finger to his lips. My breath caught in my chest, I couldn't speak anymore. Fang parted his lips slightly and took the very end of my pointer finger into his mouth, gently licking off the blood. My tongue snaked out and wet my lips inadvertently. Fang looked at me; his eyes filled with some foreign emotion and then proceeded to drop my hand. I let it fall to my side, still staring into his eyes.

"Well good morning to you too." I told him, smirking slightly.

"You know what." Fang said suddenly, placing his arm around my shoulders, starting to lead me to class.

"What?" I asked him slightly suspicious.

"You should go to the dance with me on Friday." he said with so much bravado that I immediately busted out laughing.

"The dance? Really?" I asked him dubiously, still laughing. Fang nodded, not making eye contact.

"Yeah it will be tons of fun, plus I bet you look great in a dress." he told me with a wink, squeezing my shoulder gently.

"I'll have to buy a dress, and a ticket, and how will I get there? Is this like a date?" I questioned him, the words flowing from my lips as panic set in.

"I already have the ticket for you, I will drive you, and yes it's a date, I'll even take you out to dinner if you want." Fang responded with a smile in his voice. I tilted my head, thinking. When we reached the door to our class he paused, removing his arm from my shoulder.

"Just say yes Max, you know you want to, live a little." he begged me. I made the mistake of looking into his eyes, I couldn't say no to those eyes. I groaned.

"Yes." I whispered. Fang's smile grew so big, I didn't even know he could smile that big.

"I'll pick you up at six, we can go to dinner, and then I'll take you to the dance." he quickly told me, rushing to get all the words out before the bell rang for class.

"Okay." I groaned, already thinking about how I was going to have to buy a dress, I hated wearing a dress, I felt too much like a girlie girl. I looked up at Fang and he looked so happy that for a second I just smiled, he leaned over and kissed my cheek, lingering longer than necessary. His lips felt soft and warm against my skin. I blushed slightly and stared at the floor, silently moving past him into the classroom to my seat. He followed behind me taking his place two rows ahead of me.

The bell rang for class to start and soon I found myself lost in the world of numbers. But no matter what, that stupid smile would not leave my face.

I was going to my first dance.

* * *

**Sorry I'm late, who knew fall could get so busy, but luckily I have a great idea for the plot so hopefully you'll get some earlier updates. Enjoy guys! Thank you for all the reviews and favorites/follows, it really keeps me writing. 3 Fly on lovelies.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Maximum Ride characters, all of that is owned by the wonderful James Patterson**

**Reviews and Favorites are welcomed :)**

**Chapter 11**

The dance was in two days, which meant I had two days to buy a dress, shoes, and figure out how in the world I was going to make myself look presentable enough for a school dance, which meant I was going to need some help. The closest thing I ever got to dressing up was wearing something other than a tee to school.

"Hey Nudge?" I asked, silently slinking into her room, she was, of course, sitting in front of her vanity mirror applying on numerous coats of mascara.

"What's up Max?" she asked me casually, not looking up from her mirror.

"I need your help with something." I told her sheepishly. I ran the toe of my shoe along the carpet, refusing to meet her eyes in the mirror.

"What do you need my help for Max?" Nudge asked me pointedly. Nudge was almost three years younger than me, still in eighth grade while I was a junior, she should have been a freshman but her bio parents didn't send her to school so when Jeb adopted her she ended up starting a year late. She may have been younger but she was more knowledgeable than me when it came to makeup and clothes, and sometimes she seemed so mature despite her age.

"I sort of got asked to the dance this Saturday." I explained softly. Nudge whipped around so fast in her chair that I flinched.

"You got asked to the dance!" she practically yelled.

"Yeah." I groaned, sitting down on her bed. Nudge stared at me, her eyes wide.

"Why do I seem more excited about this than you? Who asked you? Do you have a dress? How are you going to do your hair and make-up?" she rambled off quickly.

"That's why I need your help, I don't have a dress, and you know I can't do my hair and make-up, I need you to do it. Will you help me?" I asked her softly, it was kind of embarrassing for me. I usually never paid attention to appearances, but I wanted to look good.

"Of course!" she squealed, clapping her hands together and running over to hug me.

"Thank you." I told her smiling.

"So who asked you?" she questioned me, loosening the hug and gripping my shoulders, forcing me to look her in the eyes.

"His name is Fang." I mumbled.

"Oh I know him! He's really cute; I think that this is going to be so great. I bet he's going to wear black so that's good because it means you can wear whatever color you want. I bet it's a semi-formal so we'll get you a short dress, something cute, oh my gosh you guys are so cute together I can't wait to go shopping, let's go now, since we only have two days to prepare, I think…."

"Okay Nudge." I said laughing, placing my hand over her mouth to quiet her down.

"We're leaving in five, be ready." I told her, walking out of her room to grab my wallet.

* * *

Three hours later I had reached my breaking point. We had been to almost every store and I had tried on almost every dress, none of them were good enough for either me or Nudge. I had given up, I was ready to go home, and I would just tell Fang tomorrow that I couldn't go to the dance.

"Come on Nudge, let's just go home." I murmured sadly. I attempted to grab her arm in an attempt to drag her out of the mall but she stood strong.

"Wait!" she commanded me loudly, stopping and turning to look at something hanging in a display window.

"No Nudge, this is hopeless, I want to leave, this was a stupid idea." I argued, pulling harder on her arm, but she would not budge.

"Max just look!" she begged me. I rolled my eyes and sighed loudly, finally turning to look at whatever she was staring at in the display window.

My mouth dropped open.

It was perfect. The perfect dress.

It was a deep smoky grey, and it was short, reaching just above my knees, falling straight. It was sleeveless with sheer, delicate black lace leading from the collarbone to a wonderfully curved sweetheart neckline that molded perfectly to the mannequins shape, the bodice was scalloped slightly, and there was a small lace belt starting from just above the mannequin's navel, it was thin and blended in with the dress. The whole thing was gorgeous, and it was perfect.

"Wow." I breathed, my mouth still open in shock.

"Told you, go try it on." Nudge prompted me, giving me a little shove towards the store entrance.

I walked in and told the first sales associate that I came across what I wanted. The woman led me over to the rack.

"There's only one left in stock." she told me, pulling it off the rack. It looked even more beautiful up close; I was scared to ask what the size was. Luckily Nudge wasn't, she reached over and grabbed the tag checking out the size.

"It's your size." Nudge told me. Suddenly I could breathe again. The sales associate smiled and handed the dress to me.

"Dressing rooms are right over there." she told us. We rushed over to the dressing rooms and I quickly shut the door, stripping off my clothes and slipping on the dress. It slid over my skin like silk and fit like a second skin. I twirled around and looked in the mirror.

I looked amazing.

"How's it going in there Max?" Nudge asked me hesitantly. She knocked on the door softly.

"Come on, let me see, I'm sure it looks great." she added, knocking a little louder. I shook my head, snapping out of my stupor and quickly opened the door.

For once, Nudge was speechless.

"So it looks like a yes." I said smugly. I was actually kind of proud; very few people had ever managed to make Nudge speechless.

I shut the door again and changed back into my regular clothes, taking off the dress with some small regret. I walked out of the dressing room to find Nudge already at the cash register, talking up the cashier, who was responding to her with a lot of enthusiasm. When I got close enough I realized they were talking about, surprise surprise, clothes. I rolled my eyes, smiling a little.

The dress ended up costing me about sixty bucks, which wasn't that bad Nudge told me.

When we got back to the house Angel was waiting for us, wanting to see the dress. I pulled it out of the bag and laid it on the couch for her to see. She of course told us it was the most beautiful dress she had ever seen and that whoever was taking me was the luckiest guy alive. Nudge agreed and then walked upstairs to take a shower. I stared lovingly at the dress, running my fingers gently along the bottom half.

"Is he the guy who hurt you?" Angel asked me suddenly, making me jerk up in surprise.

"No honey, why would you ask me that?" I questioned her gently, looking at her square in the eyes. She shrugged her little shoulders at me.

"Just wondering I guess." she explained softly. I stopped touching the dress and wrapped my arms around her. She was so tiny and fragile, yet so strong. I picked her up and held her in my arms. She wrapped her hands around my neck while I used my arms to support her bottom.

"I know I told you that what had happened was an accident, but you clearly know better than that so I want you to know that the guy who hurt me will never hurt me again, he's out of my life." I told her seriously, making sure she understood everything I was saying.

"Okay Maxie, I love you." Angel whispered, burying her face in my neck.

"I love you too baby girl, now let's get you up to bed." I responded, carrying her up the stairs to the room she shared with Gazzy.

An hour later my phone buzzed, telling me someone was calling me. I looked at the number but didn't recognize it.

Being me, and being stupid, I answered it.

"Hello?" I said hesitantly.

"Hey Maximum, glad to see that idiot actually gave me your real number" I heard a voice say.

"Dylan." I stated pointedly, my voice icy.

"I heard you were going to the dance?" he responded, unfazed by my icy attitude.

"I don't think that's any of your business." I retorted quickly.

"Of course it's my business, you're mine Maximum." he told me seriously.

"I was never and will never be yours Dylan, you disgust me." I barked into the phone.

"You better watch yourself gorgeous; I'm not so forgiving these days." Dylan warned.

"I noticed, my back is still bruised from the other day." I told him, my teeth gritted in anger.

"That was your fault, you shouldn't have pushed me over the edge like that." he explained nonchalantly. Suddenly it hit me. Gone was the Dylan I knew from the beginning of school. This was the real Dylan, crazy, violent, and obsessive, and I wanted nothing to do with him.

"Goodbye Dylan, forever." I told him seriously.

"Goodbye Maximum, but not forever, you'll see me again real soon." he said gently. Before he or I could day anything I hung up. He made me nervous and I was scared that he would ruin the dance for me, but I knew I would be with Fang. Although I didn't need him to protect me, I knew I would feel safer with him around. Dylan was not going to mess this up for me.

It was going to be the perfect night.


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Maximum Ride characters, all of that is owned by the wonderful James Patterson**

**Reviews and Favorites are welcomed :)**

**Chapter 12**

"So who's taking you to this dance again?" Jeb asked me for the fifth time that afternoon. The dance was today. It started in less than four hours, which meant I had two hours to get ready and then two hours to go out to eat with Fang before the dance started.

"I told you, Fang?" I replied for the thousandth time. Jeb was so pre-occupied with his work that he kept ignoring me, causing me to repeat myself numerous times. He was sitting at his desk, typing up some report on some new chemical him and his science buddies had founded.

"Fang?" he questioned me, still not looking up from his work.

"Yes, Fang." I told him rolling my eyes. Suddenly, Jeb turned his attention towards me, ignoring his precious work for just a minute.

"Is this the guy who almost kissed you in the nurse's office." he asked me pointedly.

"Yes Jeb." I responded irritably. I wanted to finish this conversation so that Nudge could start getting me ready, she told me she would need all of those two hours to make me look flawless.

"Hmmm I don't know." he murmured to himself quietly.

"Oh come on Jeb, he's not going to do anything to me, and you know I can take care of myself, I'm a tough girl." I pleaded. I contemplated getting on my knees and really begging to make my point. Jeb looked at me for a long time before replying.

"Okay Max, I trust you, don't get into any trouble, and stay safe, remember _the talk_ we had the other day." He stated bluntly, turning back around to continue his work. I scoffed a little at him for implying that I would be having sex tonight.

"Thank you Jeb! You won't regret this!" I told him, running up and hugging him from the side, planting a quick peck on his cheek.

Without another word I turned away from him and run up the stairs to Nudge's room, where she was waiting to begin my makeover.

"Go wash your face." she commanded me as soon as I walked in the door. I did as she said, returning a few minutes later to find that she had set up a whole make-up station, along with a slightly smaller hair station next to it. There were things on that table that I didn't even know about, bottles and bottles of peach colored liquid and sparkly tan compacts. There were bottles of mousse and gel and hairspray, and something Nudge called dry shampoo, whatever that was.

"Well, where do you want me?" I asked her after she had finished setting up. She turned around and studied me, taking in my hair and face.

"Let's start with your hair." she told me, pointing to a swivel chair in front of the designated "hair" station. I swiftly walked over and planted myself in the swivel chair. Nudge turned me so that I was unable to see myself in any of the mirrors she had hanging around the room.

"I don't want you to see yourself until I finish." she explained, grabbing a bottle of something. She sprayed some of the stuff in my hair, getting it all the way down to my roots, and then ran a brush through it.

"In case you're wondering that was heat protectant, since I'm going to be curling your hair, since you always wear it straight, I mean don't get me wrong, it looks great straight, but it's good to mix it up sometimes and you've never curled your hair before so I think it will look really pretty." Nudge rambled on. I simply nodded at her and let her do what she wanted.

An hour later my hair was done.

"Wow, that took a long time." I said, rolling my head around to crack my neck. Nudge didn't respond, she was in her zone now. She grabbed what I assumed was hairspray and practically drowned my hair in it. My hair was going to feel so crunchy. Tentatively I reached up to see how bad it was but surprisingly it still felt soft, yet full of hold.

Nudge was a miracle worker.

She quickly pushed the chair over to the make-up station and began squeezing different white liquids out of bottles onto my face. One said moisturizer and another said primer. I didn't know what she needed all these for but I wasn't going to question her.

For forty five minutes she used different brushes to sweep on powder and three different types of eye shadow and blush and some other stuff she called bronzer and highlighter. My face felt absolutely coated in thick powder. My eyelashes felt incredibly heavy from all the mascara she put on them. Eye liner was the hardest for her, my eye kept twitching, I couldn't help it, they just freaked, and I mean she was holding a liquid pen looking thing close to my eye. Lastly she swept some lip-gloss across my lips; I didn't even see the color.

Finally Nudge grabbed the dress that was hanging on the door and helped me strip and put it on without messing up my hair and make-up. After the dress was on, Nudge stepped back to survey her work, she seemed pleased, breaking out into a large smile.

"Okay, now you may look." she told me. Without saying anything I turned and looked into the full length mirror hanging on the back of her door.

I was stunned.

My long blonde hair was curled in large ringlets, there was a small delicate braid starting from just behind my left ear to the bottom right part of my neck, keeping all of the large loose curls pinned to one side falling over my shoulder, leaving my back bare. My face looked even and flawless. There were no blemishes and dark circles to be seen. My eyes looked large and smoky, surrounded by thick dark lashes, black and grey eye shadow blending together to make them look dark and mysterious. The eyeliner was black and winged ever so slightly, giving me a sultry look, the apples of my cheeks looked slightly flushed, pink and glowing, yet my face also looked more defined, my cheekbones standing out nicely. To complete the look were my lips, which appeared pouty, covered in a soft pink lip-gloss. The dress fell on me beautifully, hugging and accentuating every curve.

"Wow." I finally breathed out. I looked so different, and yet beautiful.

"You're welcome." Nudge said, smiling at my reaction. I was scared to touch my face or my hair; I didn't want to mess anything up.

"Here, the piece to resistance." Nudge said, holding out the strappy low back heels we bought, along with a tiny, fake diamond ring and small diamond earrings.

I slid on the shoes, taking a few steps to make sure I was capable of walking. Then I grabbed the ring and earrings from Nudge quickly putting them on to finish the look. It was perfect timing too. As soon as the ring was in place, we heard the doorbell ring, signaling Fang's arrival.

"Eeeeep, he's here!" Nudge squealed, running out of the room and down the stairs to open the door for Fang. I took a deep breathe, and slowly followed her.

I could hear Nudge and Fang talking, but all conversation stopped as soon as my feet hit the floor.

Fang looked amazing. He had on a black suit and a black dress shirt with a silver tie that matched his eyes, and amazingly my dress. He looked so handsome. I was so caught up in how good he looked that I didn't notice that Fangs mouth had dropped open at the sight of me.

"You look….just…wow." Fang managed to get out, his voice shifting slightly as he tried to speak.

"He's right Max, you look beautiful, you're no longer a little girl anymore." I heard Jeb say as he came up behind me. He put his arm around my shoulder and I leaned into him, giving him a little side hug.

"Thanks Jeb, I love you too." I whispered back.

"And you better treat her right Fang, she's important to me." Jeb said sharply to Fang. Fang nodded quickly, snapping out of his shock.

"Yes sir." he replied seriously, reaching out to shake Jebs hand.

"Well, now that all the introductions have been made, we should go." I said with a laugh. Fang smiled at me gently, opening the door and gesturing for me to go out first.

"Have a good time guys." Jeb called out behind us.

"Yeah! Next time you can meet Gazzy and Angel." Nudge added. I smirked and rolled my eyes at her, she was so weird sometimes, but I totally owed her for this makeover. Fang nodded at her then gently shut the door.

"Well, I guess we better go if we want to make our reservations." Fang said softly, placing his hand on the small of my back and leading me down the walkway to his car. He opened the passenger door for me and shut it behind me after I had slid my legs in and settled comfortably into the soft interior seating.

"So where are we going?" I asked him curiously as he got into the driver's seat.

"You'll see." he replied smugly, buckling his seatbelt and putting the car into gear and slowly pulling out of the driveway. I chuckled under my breath and gently shook my head.

The ride went smoothly, we talked about school and teachers and peers. Complaining about the weird drug scene going on, and how the kids were so stupid for taking random stimulants and how the teachers were even more stupid for not noticing and stopping them. We avoided talking about Dylan, neither one of us wanted to bring him up. Before I knew it we were pulling up to a fancy looking Italian restaurant.

"This looks really expensive Fang." I told him, my stomach forming knots.

"It's not, it's just fancy looking, trust me, I have enough to cover the both of us." he reassured me. I felt bad about him paying for my dinner, but he had expressed that this was a date, and I wasn't to pay for anything, I mean I wasn't going to argue, its free food.

We got out of the car and walked inside the restaurant, it was pleasantly warm inside, and I felt comfortable in the dimly lit atmosphere. The aroma of warm French bread filled my nose, making my mouth water. There weren't that many people there, but just enough that it stayed busy.

"Nick, party of two." he told the hostess as I glanced around the restaurant. I turned to look at him as we were led to our table.

"Nick?" I asked him as we sat down. Fang pulled open the napkin and set it on his lap before responding.

"My bio mom gave me that name when I was born but it never felt like my name so when Iggy started calling me Fang, I went with it, and it stuck. Fang is my real name, not Nick, it's just sometimes people take you more seriously when you have an actual name to put down instead of my nickname." he explained quietly, not meeting my eyes.

"But I thought you weren't adopted?" I questioned him, clearly confused.

"I am, and so is Iggy. We were both in and out of foster care together until we were nine, then our mom, our current mom, adopted us together when I demanded we wouldn't be separated. She let keep being called Fang." he told me softly, his eyes finally meeting mine, so full of emotion. He looked devastated, and I could understand, I had felt devastated too.

"What happened with your bio mom?" I asked him.

"She was a druggie, couldn't provide for me so as soon as she had me she placed me on a doorstep and never looked back." Fang answered me, his voice taking on a hard edge. I stared at him for a second before reaching over to grab his hand resting on the table. He glanced down at my hand on his then shifted so that he was holding it across the table. I smiled warmly at him.

"It's okay Fang, you're here now, with me, and I won't ever leave you." I told him seriously. I meant it too. I would never leave Fang; he was an amazing person, and my best friend.

"Thank you Max." he whispered to me, using his thumb to rub gentle circles into my wrist.

"Well we better order so we can get to the dance on time." he said with a laugh, lightening the mood. I laughed with him and we both turned our attention to the menus.

The rest of dinner went smoothly. We made a lot of small talk, sticking to things we liked and things we hated, about life in general, and about our friends, which mostly meant Ella and Iggy. Dinner tasted amazing, I got spaghetti and Fang got a Stromboli. Both tasted amazing, Fang let me try some of his meal since it smelled so delicious. Honestly it was one of the best's times I had had in a while, and Fang was an amazing guy, I didn't know if it was love, but I definitely felt something for him, something strong.

Before I knew it we were back in his car on the way to the dance, it was being held at the school, in the cafeteria.

We made our way into the school, handing the usher our tickets and walking smoothly into the cafeteria where the music was so loud I could barely hear Fang next to me. There was a sea of bodies in the room, it was kind of overwhelming. It was dark but there were bright colored lights flying across the walls and the people standing in the center of the room dancing. It seemed almost crude the way they were dancing. I felt my anxiety rising and panic set in; I was three seconds from turning around and running out of that place when I felt Fang grab my hand and hold it tight. Suddenly I could breathe again. Fang was with me, I wasn't alone.

He led me over the more open outer ring of the dance circle on the other side of the room where we could both spread out and dance.

"You know, I think I forgot to tell you how absolutely beautiful you are tonight." he said loudly, leaning down to speak into my ear so I could hear him. I blushed softly looking down to the floor smiling. Fangs hand came up to gently lift my chin to look him in the eyes. I saw strong emotion there but I couldn't place it. For a second I thought he was going to kiss me.

Before he could do anything though were joined by Iggy and Ella, who both looked amazing as well. Ella had on a green dress that showed off her curves to full height, and Iggy had on a white dress shirt with a green tie and black slacks, matching Ella, showing they were a couple. They both said their quick hellos before starting to dance. Ella held on to Iggy's hand so they wouldn't be separated and so he would always know she was beside him since there were so many people and the music was loud.

Fang and I danced alongside each other, bopping up and down to the music. Ella and I at one point started grinding on each other, her in the back with me in the front, Fang just watched us, mesmerized. Fang smiled as the song ended and grabbed my wrist pulling me to him.

"You're so incredibly sexy, you know that?" he purred in my ear. I smirked at him.

"Wishing you could have a taste?" I asked coyly, slipping out of his grasp. He smirked back at me and continued dancing.

Finally though, they played what I had been waiting all night for, a slow song.

As soon as the first few notes played, Ella grabbed Iggy and turned away from us to start dancing. Fang leaned in towards me and placed his hands on my waist. I slid my hands up his chest and clasped them together behind his neck. We swayed gently with the music, not speaking, just looking into each other's eyes, completely mesmerized. After a minute the electricity between us became too much for us and we both leaned in, tilting our heads slightly in opposite directions.

Then, we were kissing.

His lips felt so soft and full, they fit perfectly with mine. My grip around his neck tightened as I tilted my head more, deepening the kiss. Fangs hands slid from my waist to grip together tightly at the small of my back. We were pressed together as close as could be as our lips got familiar with each other. I felt a warm tingling sensation flow through my body, starting from my lower belly going outwards. Sadly all too soon the song ended, and so did our kiss. I looked up at him to find him smiling. He looked so happy that I couldn't help smiling too.

"You're amazing Max, the most incredible girl I have ever known." he told me, cupping my face in his hands.

"I think you're incredible too." I replied honestly. With that he gave me one more soft kiss then led me out of the dance, holding my hand gently. It was a little early, but only slightly. The dance would end in about thirty minutes, and I had already had my fun, I was ready to leave.

The air outside was chilly and I shivered, causing Fang to put his arm around me and pull me closer to him.

"Here, let's go down here, it will get us to the car faster." he explained, leading me down an alleyway between the two school buildings. It was dark in the alley but I could still clearly see Fang and the walls thanks to the moon.

We had gotten halfway down the alley when I heard something strange.

"Well, well, well Maximum, it looks like you had a great time at the dance." a voice said. Immediately I tensed up, clutching tightly onto Fangs dress shirt. I turned around slowly and only said one word.

"Dylan."


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Maximum Ride characters, all of that is owned by the wonderful James Patterson**

**Reviews and Favorites are welcomed :)**

**Chapter 13**

"Dylan."

"In the flesh Maximum, oh and hello Fang, glad to see you moved quickly onto my girl, classy." Dylan said with forced laughter.

"Why don't you just shut up Dylan and leave us be." Fang growled angrily.

"Can't, you see that's my girl you were all over at the dance." Dylan explained casually. Fang let go of my shoulder and started to approach Dylan. Before he could take more than a couple steps I reached my arm out to stop him, grabbing his forearm.

"I can handle him, don't approach him, I don't want you two to fight." I whispered to him gently, pulling him back to me.

"Yeah come on Fang, she can take care of herself." Dylan mocked. I sneered at him then approached him cautiously, as if he were a dangerous animal, which in a way, he was.

"What do you want Dylan? Why are you here?" I asked him gently, my hands held out in front of me, palms out.

"Come on Maximum," he said sarcastically, "you know what I want, you know what I'm here for."

"Me." I whispered softly, the realization finally hitting me, he was never going to give me up. Dylan smiled at me, but his smile was full of malice, and I was scared. It just hit me how dark it was, how the shadows fell across his face making him look like a demon that spawned from the depths of hell, my own personal demon.

"You're finally figuring it out aren't you Maximum. You were always mine, ever since the first day when we met in the library." Dylan told me, taking a small step towards me. I stepped back, frightened. He was crazy, a total psychopath.

"I was never yours Dylan." I stated angrily, courage and bravery taking over. I wasn't going to keep letting Dylan scare me into submission, I was going to fight back.

"I made a mistake in thinking you could be my friend, and an even bigger mistake in kissing you, you're a monster." I said, my voice rising. I could hear Fang take a couple steps closer to me, in case something went wrong, but I shot him a look warming him to stay back, this was my fight.

"Watch yourself Maximum." Dylan warned, but I was no longer afraid. I advanced on him, pushing him towards the brick wall of the alley.

"No!" I yelled, reaching out and shoving him as hard as I could, shoving him into the dirty wall.

"You lied to me, you fooled me, you hurt me, and I will always hate you for it!" I screamed, pounding into his chest with my fists. I had never been so angry in my life, I was consumed with rage, all I could see was red.

Suddenly I felt a sharp pain across my face. I gasped sharply, stepping away from Dylan.

He had hit me, slapped me right across the face.

"Your dead!" I heard Fang yell from somewhere behind me.

Before I could do anything Dylan moved. He struck out and grabbed my wrist, turning me around to press his chest against my back, locking my arm in a painful grip, putting pressure on both my wrist and shoulder. I yelped out and winced in pain. When my eyes finally focused I noticed Fang was about five feet away from us, knees slightly bent, arms held out in surrender. Behind me I could hear Dylan breathing hard.

For a minute, nobody moved or spoke.

Finally Dylan broke the silence.

"Well now that you've gotten that out of the way, how about you let me speak." he taunted. I squirmed against him, causing him to tighten his grip sending shocks of pain up my arm.

"Oh relax Maximum, it's not all about you." he said mockingly.

"Come on man, just let her go." Fang begged.

"Now why would I do that?" Dylan asked. "She's finally in a good position, all I have to do is force her to her knees and turn her around, then she can provide a public service." he laughed.

"Fuck you Dylan." I growled angrily, but he just laughed.

Fang didn't say anything, but I could see the anger on his face.

"Come on Fang, lighten up, we both know what a slut she is." Dylan said. Suddenly I felt his other hand touch my hip and slide down to the end of my dress. His fingers played with the soft edge for a moment before touching my outer thigh. I struggled against him, sliding my leg over to get away from his touch, but he simply tightened his hold on my arm causing me to call out.

Fang stepped towards us, trying to figure out a way to get me out of Dylan's grasp. He looked at me and I could see it in his eyes, fear.

"I'm not a slut." I growled at Dylan.

"Oh come on Maximum, all three of us know you are, and it's okay, I can share." he told me softly, his breath tickling the outer shell of my ear. His voice caused my lips to curl up in disgust.

"I will never, ever be with you." I told him menacingly. He was in the position of power, and although I was scared shitless, I wasn't going to let it show.

"Don't be like that Maximum, I know how much I turn you on, I remember you moaning on the couch with me." Dylan said seductively in my ear. Against my better judgment I attempted to pull out of his grasp only succeeding to gain about an inch before he pulled me back in.

"I bet she didn't tell you about that did she Fang? How I made her moan with my lips as I laid her down on the couch ready to ravish her." he asked with mock confusion.

"No, she didn't." Fang retorted solidly. I looked up at him afraid, but he didn't look angry, he looked scared for me.

"Shut up Dylan." I whispered savagely.

"Oh, did you not want me to tell your new boyfriend all about our extra activities?" Dylan questioned sarcastically. His fingers slid up my outer thigh under my dress, reaching for the side of my panties and playing with the elastic.

"Get. Your. Hands. Off. Her." Fang commanded him, deadly serious. I could feel Dylan smirk against my ear.

"But she's all mine." Dylan told him, leaning over to kiss the exposed part of my neck. I jerked my head away from him but he simply followed it, kissing harder. He nibbled gently on my pulse point. I looked at Fang desperately. He glanced at my feet causing me to look down, I was confused for a moment but I quickly got his message.

"I love you Maximum." Dylan whispered softly in my ear, sounding for a second like the sweet Dylan I had met in the library.

"I love you too." I responded just as sweetly. My response shocked Dylan, causing him to loosen his hold on my arm and give me the advantage I needed.

I took the sharp heel of my shoe and quickly stabbed it into the thick exterior of Dylan's foot, putting all my weight behind it. Dylan yelled out and let go of my arm allowing me to wrench free of him. From the corner of my eye I saw Fang reach out and punch Dylan square on the nose. I heard a sickening crunch. I whirled around just in time to see Dylan fall to the ground holding his nose while Fang stood above him, breathing hard. His hands were clenched into fists.

"I told you that you were dead." Fang said harshly.

Dylan looked up at Fang, then at me, a few feet behind Fang. His hands moved away from his nose to reveal blood, it was broken.

Dylan glanced down and saw the blood on his hands then started laughing. A loud piercing sound that sent chills down my spine. It was the laugh of a mad man.

Fang watched Dylan for a moment before backing away and grabbing my hand, together we turn and ran down the alleyway, not stopping until we were safely in his car. We both sat for a moment in quiet, breathing loudly, trying to catch our breath.

"Can I stay with you tonight? I can't go home like this." I asked Fang softly. My face and arm still stung from Dylan and I was clearly shaken up.

"What are you going to tell Jeb?" Fang asked gently.

"I'll just text him and tell him I'm staying with Ella." I answered, pulling out my phone to send a quick text to Jeb. Five minutes later he responded with a quick "okay, have fun."

"See, we're all good." I told Fang, showing him the text.

"Okay." he answered. Fang quickly and quietly pulling out of the parking lot and getting on the road towards his house.

Fifteen minutes later we were there. Without a word Fang led me into his house and up to his room. The house was dark and silent, empty.

"Where is everyone?" I asked , settling myself on the edge of Fangs bed.

"They're all out of town for the weekend, camping." he explained.

"Why aren't you with them?" I questioned. Fang came and sat beside me on his bed. It was comfortable and soft.

"Because I wanted to go to the dance with you." he answered sheepishly.

We sat together for a moment in silence. Suddenly I spoke.

"I need to show you something, but you have to promise me you won't get upset."

Fang nodded at me slowly, he seemed almost nervous. I took a deep breath and stood up. I took a couple steps forward, keeping my back to him. I reached down and grabbed the edges of my dress and in one swift movement pulled it up and over my head, tossing it to the side, out of the way. I heard Fang take in a sharp gasp and I knew he had noticed the bruise.

"How did you get that?" he asked me softly.

"Dylan came over to my house on that day I played sick and when I told him I made a mistake and that I didn't love him he hurt me. He pushed me into the sharp edge of a table." I explained, not turning around. I heard Fang get up and walk towards me. I knew he wouldn't hurt me. I trusted him, I just felt extremely vulnerable in my bra and panties.

I felt his fingers softly brush over the bruise. Instinctively I closed my eyes and leaned into his touch. Suddenly Fang spun me around, grabbing my shoulders gently and looking deep into my eyes.

"Hit me Max." he whispered gently.

"What!" I exclaimed shocked. I backed away slowly, not dropping eye contact with him.

"Hit me Max, I deserve it." Fang told me softly, reaching his hand over to the edge of his shirt and sliding it off over his head in one smooth movement, throwing it aside as well.

"No Fang, I won't." I told him, my eyes widening.

"Do it Max, I deserve it, I wasn't there for you when that bastard hurt you, I want you to hit me." he told me, his voice steadily getting stronger. He took a step towards causing me to step back and press my back against the wall.

"I won't" I whispered.

"Please." Fang begged me, taking another step towards me. Now there was only a couple of inches between us, I couldn't move any farther back.

"No." I told him softly, my voice so quiet I could barely hear it.

"Please." he whispered, moving even closer to me, until our lips were almost touching.

And then, I kissed him. I slid my arms around his neck and pressed my bare torso against his. He immediately responded, sliding his arms around my bare waist and kissing me back, tilting his head to deepen it. He opened his mouth slightly allowing me to slip my tongue in. He tasted sweet, like sugar. He responded by tasting me back, pushing me firmly against the wall so every inch of him was pressed up against me, his hands moved from my waist to my hips, sliding up to run along the sides of my bare stomach.

Suddenly he stepped back, pulling me with him, he sat down on the bed, not breaking the kiss. On instinct I leaned into him more, pushing him back onto the bed so he was laying down. We kissed some more, his hands running along my back, being careful of the bruise. He rolled over so that he was on top, removing his lips from mine to kiss my jaw, trailing soft sweet kisses that felt like fire all the way down my neck.

I never want this to end I thought. But it did. Fang sat up after giving my collarbone a gentle nip. He moved away from me, leaning back against his headboard. I followed suit, sitting up and leaning back against his headboard as well.

"We should stop." he told me gently. Part of me didn't want to but I knew he was right.

"I know." I responded quietly.

"We should go to sleep, it's been a long night." Fang whispered. For once I agreed, it had been a long night, and I was tired.

"You're right." I told him, lifting up the covers getting ready to settle under them.

"Here you can sleep in this, I'll go sleep on the couch." Fang said tossing me one of his over sized t-shirts from the dresser. He grabbed a pillow and a blanket and started walking out of the room.

"Wait!" I called out to him. Fang froze, looking at me intently.

"You can sleep in here with me." I told him firmly. He looked unsure, halfway turned toward the door and halfway turned toward the bed.

"Come on Fang, I won't bite, and I don't really want to sleep alone tonight." I explained exasperated. I took the t-shirt he gave me and slipped it on, it went all the way down to my mid-thighs, covering me well, it was black of course.

"Okay." Fang mumbled finally giving up on the idea of sleeping on the couch. He returned to the bed and put his pillow back in place. I smiled at him and laid back in the bed, covering myself with the covers, I turned away from Fang, putting my back towards him but I could still feel him get into bed next to me and slide the covers up, it felt deliciously warm in the bed with him. I rolled over to find him already facing me, quietly he leaned over and kissed me softly.

"Goodnight Max." he whispered.

"Goodnight Fang." I whispered back, closing my eyes for the night.

* * *

**Alright guys, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, I had a lot of fun writing it, don't forget to review, those things really keep me writing, tell me what you think of the story, good or bad, where you want it to go, things like that. And don't forget to fly on lovelies! *heart***


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Maximum Ride characters, all of that is owned by the wonderful James Patterson**

**Reviews and Favorites are welcomed :)**

**Chapter 14**

The first thing I noticed upon waking was a body pressed up against mine. It was firm yet soft. Then I remembered it was Fang. The events from last night came back to me and I recalled Dylan attacking us, our narrow escape, and kissing Fang. I smiled quietly to myself at the thought of kissing Fang.

Suddenly I felt his arm drape over me and pull me closer to him. He had curled his body around mine, effectively becoming the big spoon. I moved back, attempting to snuggle even closer to him. Fang let out a low moan in his sleep; I could feel his warm breath tickling the nape of my neck.

I closed my eyes trying to go back to sleep but was forced awake when I felt something hard poking into my lower back. What the hell is that I thought to myself. Then I realized what it was.

My mouth opened in shock and I had to refrain from literally laughing out loud. Fang was sporting some hard "morning wood". It was pretty uncomfortable pressing into my lower back so I tried to casually reach behind me and shift his…..thing….between my legs. It was awkward as hell and as soon as I placed my hand around it to move it Fang shot awake.

"What the fuck?" he asked blinking in surprise. I winced and turned around to face him, holding the blankets around me. Fang stared at me for a moment.

"Hi." I whispered nervously.

"Hi, sorry Max, I just didn't expect you to try and cop a feel while I was still sleeping. Actually I had forgotten you were here; I'm not used to having beautiful women in my bed." Fang told me gently. I blushed at his "beautiful" comment.

"I wasn't trying to cop a feel." I stammered to him, my face red. Fang smirked at me and pulled me closer to him, landing a soft kiss on my nose. Suddenly I was very aware of the fact that I was just in a long t-shirt and underwear. I had no bra on and the tee has risen up to navel.

"Sure you weren't." Fang retorted, his voice dipping low and taking on a seductive tone. Without responding I leaned in and kissed his lips gently. Fang pulled me on top of him and rolled on his back, kissing me back with rising passion. I moaned into his lips and parted mine to allow him entrance. I felt him run his fingers from my arms along my back to firmly cup my ass. He was still hard underneath me. I shifted so that I was straddling him. Fang continued running his hands lower, moving them to my silky thighs and back up to grip my hips.

I smirked knowingly. I began to grind against his hard member causing soft moans from Fang. He moved his lips to my neck, sucking and biting as I grinded harder and faster.

"Oh Max." he moaned into my neck, biting down hard on my shoulder, making me gasp in pleasure ad pain. I reached down to run my hands along his chest, making my way down to his boxers where I stared toying with the edges. Fang tugged on the edges of my tee and I knew what he wanted.

I sat up straight and pulled the tee off of me. Fangs eyes grew wide with lust. He wanted me, and he knew I could see it. I leaned back down to kiss him but he had other ideas. He jerked his hips up thrusting against my heat making me gasp out in pleasure. He moved his lips to my breasts, taking the nipple between his teeth gently and playing with it with his tongue causing me to moan louder. With his other hand he reached up and massaged my other breast.

I started coming down with each one of his thrusts up, wishing I could remove the last two pieces of clothing between us.

"Oh God!" I called out breathlessly. I didn't think I was going to last much longer. I could feel Fang smirk as he continued working on my breast with his mouth.

After a few more thrusts from Fang I couldn't contain myself anymore, I yelled out loudly, saying his name as my legs grew weak. Fang gave one last strong thrust and came as well. His lips moved from my breast to my lips, giving me a soft kiss.

"Well that was intense." I chuckled as we both attempted to steady our breathing.

"I think I need a shower, or at least to change my underwear." Fang responded lightly. I looked down at him; he looked so delicious underneath me, his grey eyes piercing into mine.

"I love you Max." he whispered. My eyes widened in shock.

"Oh fuck." he said, pushing me off of him. He looked frazzled as he got out of the bed and began pacing the floor.

"What's wrong?" I asked him, genuinely confused. I didn't understand why he was so upset. Fang didn't respond, just kept pacing the floor.

"Fang?" I asked him slightly louder, he continued to ignore me. I got up from the bed slowly and stood in front of him, placing my hands on his shoulders to stop him.

"Fang, look at me, what's wrong?" I asked him seriously. He looked at me, clearly pained.

"I don't want you to get scared and run off, I mean the last guy who told you he loved you ended up being a psycho stalker, and I didn't want you to think I would end up anything like that freak." Fang explained. I smiled at him soothingly, reaching up to run my hand along his cheek.

"Fang, I know you're nothing like him, you would never hurt me, and you can't scare me off." I responded. Fang pulled me into him and kissed me. It was a slow passionate kiss, the kind that lingers long after your lips have stopped touching.

"I love you too." I whispered after the kiss ended. Fang stepped back in shock then grabbed my waist and swung me around. I laughed loudly as he put me down. Fang just smiled at me, his eyes sparkling.

"We should get cleaned up." Fang commented, leading me to the shower.

"You can go first." he added, grabbing some clothes out of his drawers and handing them to me.

"Why don't we shower together?" I asked him seductively, pulling him into the bathroom with me by his hips. Fang smirked at me but slowly removed my hands from his hips.

"There will be other times for that, why don't you go get cleaned up now." he told me with a small laugh. I pouted at him but took the clothes and headed into the shower, turning on the water, making it steamy. Fang rolled his eyes jokingly and closed the door. I laughed and stripped down, stepping into the shower.

Fifteen minutes later I was out of the shower and sitting comfortably on Fags bed waiting for him to come out of the shower. I was wearing one of Fangs sweatpants, boxers, and t-shirt. I smiled to myself, recalling the events that had led up to this point, I couldn't wait to make love with Fang, and I knew it would be wonderful.

A chirp from my phone caused my thoughts to scatter. I glanced down and saw a text from Nudge.

**We're all leaving to go run some errands; Jeb wants you to come home and clean.**

I groaned and rolled my eyes sending her a quick **k**.

"I'm leaving, I have to get home." I called out to Fang. I heard him mumble back a response from the shower but I kept going. I quietly walked down the stairs and out the door, hugging myself to keep warm in the cold wind.

* * *

**Hey guys, sorry it's been so long. The holidays came up and school got busy and so did life, also to be honest I had a serious case of writers block, but I know where I want the story to go now and I hope you'll stay with me until the end. Fly on lovelies. **


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Maximum Ride characters, all of that is owned by the wonderful James Patterson**

**Reviews and Favorites are welcomed :)**

**Chapter 15**

I got home in record time. I practically ran the whole way there. It was extremely hard to do in slinky black high heels but there was no way I was going to borrow some of Fangs clothes.

God I almost couldn't believe what had happened between us; the dance, the fight with Dylan, the kissing, oh the kissing. I still felt tingles just thinking about it.

I came home to an empty house. I wasn't sure how much time I had to clean but I knew I had to work fast. I wanted the house to be clean by the time they came home so that Jeb wouldn't be angry with me, or suspicious about me lying to him the night before, which I still felt so incredibly guilty about. I grabbed my phone and plugged it into the charger I had set up in the kitchen.

I took the stairs two at a time, ripping off my shoes and dress as quickly as possible so I could change into sweats, but when I came to my room I stopped.

The door was cracked open.

My door was never open. The kids weren't allowed in there, and Jeb made sure to enforce that, my door was always closed.

I quickly slipped my dress back on but left the heels off. Taking a deep breath I slowly pushed open the door the rest of the way, trying to be as quiet as possible. I glanced around and saw that everything was in order; nothing had been touched or messed with.

"Breath Max, you're starting to lose it." I told myself chuckling slightly and taking a step into my room.

I threw my shoes down on my bed and once again slipped of my dress, letting it fall to the floor.

Suddenly I heard my door slam shut behind me.

I screamed and whipped around, immediately going defensive, preparing to fight.

"I figured I'd stop you before you got completely naked."

"What the fuck are you doing here Dylan?" I screamed at him, attempting to cover my body as best as I could with my hands and arms.

"What do you think I'm here for Maximum? I'm here to take what's mine." he responded dangerously, slinking forward like a panther stalking its prey. He had two strips of tape on his nose, I'm assuming to keep it in pace since Fang broke it the night before. There was slight bruising under his eyes from it. He also walked with a slight limp from me stepping on his foot with my sharp heel.

I backed up, my waist hitting the edge of my dresser. I looked around for something to defend myself with. Finally my eyes caught on a heavy paperweight. I figured I could throw it at him or at least bash his head in if he attacked me. I grabbed it swiftly and held it firmly in my fist.

"Oh relax Maximum, I'm not here to rape you, when we have sex it will be because you want to, not because I force you. In fact why don't you get dressed?" Dylan offered to me, sounding slightly exasperated. I stared at him disbelieving, my eyes narrowed into slits.

"Well go on Maximum, I'm not going to offer twice." he told me. I still held onto the paperweight as I reached behind me to open one of my dresser drawers.

Dylan nodded and sat down on the edge of my bed, allowing me to get dressed. Quickly and quietly I slipped on some skinny jeans and a tee, never taking my eyes off of him.

"So now that that's over, you want to tell me why you're here?" I asked him, my voice dripping venom.

"Oh come on Maximum, there's no need to be hostile." Dylan tsked at me. He stood up and paced the length of the room, taking soft yet sure steps. I watched him carefully, all of me on edge.

"As I recall I have plenty of reason to be hostile." I practically snarled at him. He just shook his head gently and chuckled at me.

"That was just me having a little fun, you know I would never seriously hurt you." he responded. He seemed to be in strange mood, not angry or upset, just calm and joking. I didn't know which one scared me more.

"Tell that to the bruise on my back and my sore shoulder." I snapped back.

"Oh those weren't anything serious Maximum. If I wanted to, I could have broken your arm last night, but I didn't, you know why? Because I love you." Dylan said, ignoring the hostility in my voice.

"Well I don't love you. In fact I hate you. More than anyone could ever hate another person." I told him back, my voice taking on a serious note. Dylan stopped pacing and looked at me gently. His eyes were filled with love, and sadness, and anger, and something a little off. I could see it in his eyes. He was crazy.

"When will you realize Maximum? You. Are. Mine." he told me harshly, finally advancing on me. The paperweight grew heavy in my hand; I changed my grip, preparing to throw it at his head.

"I'll never be yours. I'm Fangs" I retorted, my mouth twisting up in a harsh smile. I switched up my stance, shifting my legs so that I had better balance and firmer footing.

Dylan continued to stalk forward, slightly dragging his bad foot behind him. He no longer spoke, and all I could see in his eyes now was anger. Hi lips curled up in a snarl. I waited for him to get closer, and then I struck.

I threw the paperweight as hard as I could, aiming straight for the center of his face. Dylan jerked out of the way expecting the attack but it still managed to hit him right on his left temple.

He let out a scream of pain and then ran at me. I dodged his initial attack, quickly slipping around him and running to the door. Just as I had reached it and swung it open I felt a hand grab my arm.

"LET GO!" I screamed, jerking out of his grasp with all of my might. I felt his grip loosen and I wrenched free, running out of my room, aiming for the stairs. I heard Dylan running after me. In an attempt to slow him down I knocked over a side table, making it land in the middle of the hallway right in his path. I watched as he hit it at full speed, tripping and falling down, his arms reaching out for me. I turned and tried to run again but I his hand grabbed my ankle, tripping me up and causing me to fall as well.

"THIS IS OVER MAXIMUM!" he screamed at me, detangling himself from the side table and wrestling me to submission. I screamed and writhed around, trying to crawl away from him, trying so hard to get out of his grasp.

"SHUT UP!" he yelled at me, turning me over so I laid on my back. I continued screaming as he clawed at my wrists securing them tightly with one of his hands, holding them above my head. I continued to fight him, kicking out my legs, hoping to buck him off of me.

"I SAID SHUT UP!" he yelled again, this time hitting me across the face. My screams died in my throat and stopped moving. I was in shock. He had struck me. And not with an open palm either. He had punched me, right in my cheekbone. It burned and throbbed. My eyes widened in shock.

"Ah that's better." Dylan told me now stroking my throbbing cheek.

"Just please get off, please let me go." I pleaded with him, tears springing to my eyes and spilling out of the outer corners.

"Oh sweetheart, you know I'm not going to do that. Like I told you, you are mine." he responded leaning down and kissing my cheek. I turned my head away from him, tears falling freely now as I quietly sobbed, my body shaking with tears.

"Oh don't cry Maximum, I love you, it will all be okay, I promise." he whispered to me gently. I closed my eyes and tried to steady my breathing.

"Please." I begged, my voice barely a whisper.

"Shhhh Maximum, it's going to be alright." he whispered again, I just continued trying to stifle my sobs and steady my breathing.

"This is going to hurt baby, I'm sorry." Dylan told me, reaching behind me where I couldn't see. I looked around trying to see what he was reaching for, but all I saw the paperweight I had thrown at him, he must have grabbed it after I threw it at him.

"Please don't." I begged him softly one last time. He looked into my eyes, his filled with sadness, hope, and craziness.

"I love you Maximum." he told me. Then he took the paperweight and lifted it high above me. He held it there for a moment then brought it down quickly.

It was the last thing I saw before my world went black.

* * *

**Hey guys, long time no see. Sorry I've been gone for so long, life just got the best of me and I got crazy busy and distracted, but I'm here to tell you I'm back and will hopefully have some amazing chapters coming up for you in the next couple weeks. I hope you like the direction I took the story in. It definitely got a little dark and twisted, but what can I say, I'm a tortured writer haha. Well I hope you all are doing okay, and remember, I love me some feedback! Fly on lovelies!**


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Maximum Ride characters, all of that is owned by the wonderful James Patterson**

***Please read bold below story for extra info**

**Chapter 16**

The first thing I thought upon waking was that my head hurt, bad. There was this strong throbbing in my cheek and an even worse throbbing in my right temple. The second thing I thought was that I wished someone would turn the music down. I scrunched up my face and groaned in pain, opening my eyes for the first time since waking.

Immediately I gasped.

"What the fuck." I whispered to myself looking around. The edges of my sight were blurry but I could tell I was in some sort of vehicle. I was lying down across the seats, my face facing the rear and I could feel the car moving at a steady fast pace. The seats were grey leather and I could feel it sticking to the skin on my arms. The events from last night rushed back to me, the fight, the struggle, Dylan knocking me out with the paperweight. I tried moving my hand up to rub my throbbing temple but it was stuck. I glanced down and saw that my hands were tied together with what looked like some sort of thin rope behind my back. I tried to move my legs and discovered they were tied as well at the ankles and knees.

That was the moment I started panicking.

"HELP!" I screamed as loud as possible, "SOMEBODY HELP ME!"

I writhed around as I stopped screaming, focusing all my energy on moving; attempting to roll myself over so I could see the front and figure out who the hell was driving.

As soon as I had rolled myself around enough that I could see the ceiling of the car I heard a voice speak.

"Hello Maximum, glad to see you're awake."

My eyes grew wide and my mouth dropped open.

"Dylan?" I whispered gently, mostly to myself.

"In the flesh." he laughed, the sound of his voice filling the car quickly.

Holy shit, I thought to myself. I mean I knew he was crazy, and I knew he was obsessed with me but no way did I ever think he would resort to kidnapping me. This was a whole other level of crazy. Oh my God! He was going to fucking kill me!

"Glad to see you're finally awake. How's your head?" he asked turning the music down to a less deafening level.

I didn't respond. I just continued trying to wriggle around so that I could clearly see the front of the car. Then I would worry about sitting up to try and figure out where the hell we were.

"When we stop I'll give you some ibuprofen to help with the pain, I'm sure it must hurt, my head still hurts from the paperweight." he chuckled. My face immediately scrunched up in disgust.

"Come on Maximum, talk to me." he begged gently, turning on his blinker ad switching lanes.

I ignored him again and smiled slightly at finally being able to see the entire front of the car. It was small, and Dylan was really close to me. His blonder hair shone in the sunlight; in some other world I might have thought he was beautiful, but not now. I looked at the clock on the dashboard and saw that it was about 2 o'clock in the afternoon. The radio looked relatively new so I assumed the car was a newer model, maybe a 2012.

"Maximum I know you can hear me, and if you know what's good for you, you'll speak." Dylan told me, his voice getting sharp around the edges.

"Where the hell are we you freak?" I asked him angrily, wrenching my body upwards trying to sit up to look out the window.

"No need for the hostility Maximum, we're just outside of Virginia." he responded matter of factly.

Virginia? That was hours away from where I lived. How long had he been driving? How long had I been out?

"You've been out for about 14 hours." Dylan told me, answering my silent question.

"Where the hell are you taking me?" I asked him. He chuckled at me, which pissed me off.

"Sorry if kidnapping amuses you psycho." I snapped at him. I may have been scared but I was still me, and I never showed weakness, I didn't allow it.

"Watch yourself." he warned me making me grit my teeth.

"And as for where I'm taking you, somewhere you'll never be found." Dylan said.

"Fang will find me, he'll know you took me, he'll tell everyone." I told him.

"That's sweet that you think that, he may love you, but not like I do. He may search for a little while, but he'll give up, and then you'll be mine." he said nonchalantly.

"I'll never be yours." I whispered. If Dylan heard me he didn't show it. He just continued driving no longer bothering to speak to me.

I focused once again on lifting myself up into sitting position. My first tries failed, I would lift myself up about halfway then fall back. I could hear Dylan laugh each time I fell back into the leather seats. I snarled internally and with one final heave managed to lift myself into sitting position right behind the driver seat.

I took a minute to steady my breathing and then glanced out the window. All I could see were large mountains surrounding the roads. The rock formations were covered with lush dark green trees. There were a few other cars around but they were all going in the same direction and none were close enough for me to try and get their attention through the window.

"Pretty isn't it?" Dylan asked me gently. I shrugged my shoulders, not bothering to respond.

"Pretty like you." he added softly, his eyes meeting mine for the first time in the review mirror since I woke up. His eyes were still beautifully blue and I could remember clearly the first time I saw them. I thought he was so great and sweet and funny; I was wrong, I was so so wrong.

After several minutes of neither of us speaking my stomach growled, breaking the silence.

"Hungry huh? Yeah me too, I think there's a drive through up here. I'll stop and get us something to eat." he told me, sounding like the kind Dylan I met on the first day, not the crazy guy who kidnapped me.

Dylan glanced around and then took the first exit he saw getting off of the interstate and pulling into the nearest fast food parking lot. He unlocked his door and got out, preparing to go into the restaurant for some food.

My heart swelled with hope, if he left me alone in here, perhaps I could get out, even if my legs and hands were tied. My mouth was free and so were my eyes.

Before I could start planning Dylan unlocked the back door and reached towards me, ducking his head in the back seat.

I started wriggling around like crazy, trying to get away from him or hit him or anything that would help me get out of here.

"I'm sorry Maximum but it has to be done." he said sadly.

He pulled a tie from his back pocket and pulled me towards him, reaching around and tying it around my mouth, effectively gagging me. I looked around the parking lot for help but it was essentially abandoned, there was no one.

I thought the gagging would be the worst of it, but it wasn't.

After making sure the tie was secure he pushed me down on my stomach so that I was once again lying across the seats. He pulled my legs up so they were bent, pushing the heels of my feet into my butt. I couldn't see what was happening but I felt a tightening in my hands and ankles. He had tied them together like I was some sort of lassoed pig. I attempted to scream but the tie blocked most of the sound.

"I'll be back soon and then I'll untie you, I promise. Now be a good girl Maximum." Dylan told me, giving my hip an affectionate pat making me gag.

He closed the door and locked the car making it beep twice. I squirmed around to see how much I could actually move but all I felt was pain. The rope was tied so tightly that it burned my skin each time I tried to move.

For the first time since discovering I had been kidnapped, the tears began to fall. It was okay for me to look weak now that Dylan was no longer in the car.

I sobbed into the leather seats, letting the tie swallow up my cries. My tears puddled in the creases of the seats effectively making my entire face damp. I allowed myself this moment to truly let out all of the hurt and panic and fear and anger and frustration that I had in this moment.

I could physically feel my heart being torn to shreds.

All I could think was the same thing over and over again.

I was going to die.

I was going to die.

I was going to die.

* * *

**Alright, Hi guys. Long time to write huh. To be honest I didn't plan on updating this today, in fact I didn't even know if I would, but then yesterday I got some amazing reviews/emails from a wonderful girl called Graceless0ne and she inspired me to write again. So I guess long story short, this one's for you Graceless0ne. I hope you read this and I hope you enjoy it. Thanks for taking time to read and review, you're amazing. Fly on my loves!**


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Maximum Ride characters, all of that is owned by the wonderful James Patterson**

**Chapter 17**

After we had stopped for lunch and Dylan force fed me some sort of cheeseburger he allowed me to move up to the passenger's seat, with some requirements of course. He un-lassoed me and carried me up into the seat with my feet and hands still tied together. I tried my hardest to struggle against him, hoping he'd drop me or someone would look out and see us, but no one did.

He kept my feet tied together but moved my hands to the front, allowing me to be more comfortable with my hands tied together in my lap. While he was busy with the rope I looked around for the door handle, it was close enough for me to grab and my hands twitched with desire to escape.

"Don't even think about it Maximum," Dylan warned, "It won't work anyway, only I can unlock it from my side of the car." I narrowed my eyes at him and growled in frustration through the tie still gagging me. After making sure my hands were secure he dragged the seat belt over me. It was slightly uncomfortable since my hands were tied together but I could deal.

"Now I'm going to take the tie out of your mouth, if you scream, it goes right back in, understand?" Dylan asked me. I nodded solemnly. He pulled it out gently and I took in a couple of deep breathes allowing fresh air to enter my mouth.

"Good girl." Dylan complimented, giving me a swift kiss on the cheek, making me jerk my head away from him. He sighed at me exasperated and closed the door getting in the driver's seat.

"You'll love me soon enough Maximum." he commented, turning the car on and pulling out of the parking lot. I rolled my eyes and turned my head to look out the window, making sure he couldn't see my face and I let the tears fall again. Before I knew it I had fallen asleep.

"Get up Maximum." I heard Dylan call back to me from the driver's seat. I shifted gently in the passenger's seat, my eyes popping open at the sound of Dylan's voice.

"I know you're awake Maximum." Dylan said to me, reaching over to nudge my shoulder gently. I flinched away from him.

"I'm up, what do you want?" I asked him harshly, finally looking around and taking in my surroundings. We were on some sort of dirt road path with lush green forests surrounding the car on every side. I had absolutely no idea where we were, not even the state.

"I just wanted to let you know that we're almost there." Dylan responded with a chuckle. I grimaced at the sound of his smugness.

"And where is "there" exactly?" I asked him sarcastically, not expecting a straight answer.

"Somewhere where we'll never be found." he answered me. I scoffed at him rolling my stiff shoulders as best as I could in the passenger seat.

We drove in silence for a little while, maybe twenty minutes, the road just getting smaller and more winding. After a couple more minutes I could see a building slowly coming into view. It looked like an old plantation house with large white columns and ivy growing up the sides.

"Whoa." was all I could manage to get out as we drove up and parked on the worn gravel in front of the house. It was even bigger than I expected. A good two stories with what looked like at least two wings. I glanced in the windows and saw that it was completely furnished with old chairs and sofas.

"What is this place?" I asked Dylan softly.

"My great grandparents old house." he responded gruffly, shutting off the engine and getting out, coming over to my side of the car.

"On your mom or dads side?" I asked him curiously as he opened my door and unbuckled my seat belt.

"Mom." he growled angrily, signifying that the conversation was over. I just nodded and let him untie my hands, his fingers working swiftly at the knots. When the rope finally fell off I stretched my hands and my arms, moving all of the joints around to get feeling back in them. Nothing in the world had ever felt better to me.

"Just so you know, if you're thinking of running as soon as I untie your feet at let you out of the car it would be a bad idea. We are surrounded by miles of forest, you would get lost in an instant, and I would find you on the dirt road. And if you're thinking of stealing the keys from me, think again, I'm not opposed to physical discipline with you if you remember correctly." Dylan said.

I did remember perfectly. I still had several bruises on my back and shoulder from his attacks. Just the fight from my house the other day had left several bruises on my face and wrists. And he was right, I had no idea where we were, I would get lost in these woods and starve to death. Even if Fang came looking he would never manage to find me all the way out here in the woods. My best chance of escape was to somehow steal the keys from him, but the best way to do that was to earn his trust.

"I won't run, I promise." I told him, forcing myself to look him in the eyes. His still held so much love and amusement, I just couldn't understand it. He smiled at me and then bent down, going to work on the rope bound to my ankles.

"There, I'm finished." Dylan told me as he straightened up standing beside the car door, giving me room to get out. I wiggled my ankles gently then placed one foot out of the car, putting slight pressure on it. I seemed to be okay considering I hadn't walked in about forty eight hours. I put my other foot out of the car and stood up gingerly, leaning on the car for support. Dylan reached out to help me, gripping my elbow to help me stand up straight. I flinched away on instinct but came back to let him help me. He seemed surprised that I was letting him touch me but I knew this was the first step to gaining his trust so I could escape.

"Are you okay Maximum?" he asked me softly. I nodded, moving away from him to walk on my own. I journeyed up to the front porch of the house, it seemed to wrap around the entire house. I followed it, going around the long white brick walls with Dylan following behind me quietly.

When I reached the back of the house I gasped. Behind the house was a large field stretching over what seemed to be several acres. In one section there were wild flowers growing, I could see purples, yellows, and reds, covering the grass. And smack dab in the middle was a deep blue lake. It looked so clean and clear that I figured I could see my reflection in it if I actually walked down there.

"I know, it's incredible." Dylan said reaching coming and standing beside me. He was close, but not close enough to make me feel uncomfortable. I didn't respond, just stared out on the field.

"You'll see, it'll be better here, better without Fang and your dad and your siblings. You'll be happy here, you'll be happy here with me." he said reaching out to caress my cheek. I moved away dodging him.

"It will never be better here with you. I will never be happy here, especially not with you!" I yelled at him, letting my anger get the best of me.

"It will be! I'm telling you Maximum, it may take a few weeks, a few months, or a few years, but in the end you will love me." Dylan growled at me, advancing on me.

"Don't you get it? I will never love you! I love Fang!" I screamed back at him, backing away as he got closer to me.

"Don't you dare say his name." Dylan told me seriously. I could see the fury on his face but I couldn't help it.

"I love Fang! Fang loves me! He will find me!" I continued screaming at him. He got closer to me, forcing me back into the white brick wall.

"You will listen to me Maximum." he commanded, grabbing my forearm harshly.

"Let go of me! He will find me! Fang will find me! He loves me!" I continued as loud as I could. Dylan snarled at me and then in one swift movement jerked my forward by my forearm and threw me across the porch making my slam into the wooden railing.

"You will learn to obey me Maximum; it's the only way you will survive." Dylan told me quietly, opening the back door and going inside the house, leaving me outside alone.

I screamed as loud as I could, letting all my frustration and anger and sadness out, Although I doubted anyone could hear me. I moved my appendages to see if anything was hurt but apart from some scraped and some new bruises I was fine.

I expected tears to fall but nothing came, maybe I was all cried out, or maybe I had accepted my fate. I was going to die here, Dylan would end up killing me.

As I let those thoughts sink in, thoughts of Fang and Jeb and Nudge and Angel and Gazzy and Iggy and Ella came to me. They needed me; I had to get back to them.

It was then that I made my decision.

I was going to live.

And I was going to escape.

No matter what it took.

* * *

**Hey guys! Look who's back! I missed you all, and I missed this story. I definitely have some new inspiration so hopefully I'll be updating more often. Okay well, enjoy this chapter and let me know what you think, good or bad, it's always nice to hear from you guys. Alrighty, have a fantastic rest of the week. Fly on lovelies.**


	18. Chapter 18

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Maximum Ride characters, all of that is owned by the wonderful James Patterson**

**Chapter 18**

I woke up the next day in a warm bed. It was softer than any bed I had ever been in, covered with heavy layers of sheets and thick puffy comforter. It was surrounded by a dark wood bed frame and four finely carved pillars. It almost seemed to be suffocating me but as soon as I stuck my hand out from underneath the sheets I realized how cold it was on the other side of the blankets.

I glanced around the room, taking in my surroundings.

The room was large, filled with old fashioned furniture. There was a sturdy looking rocking chair in one corner and a large wooden vanity in the other, complete with a matching chair and cushion. On top of the vanity was what looked like an old hairbrush with a silver handle. A couple feet to the right of the rocking chair there was a large wardrobe. In the center of the room was a beautiful deep red rug and against the wall, a tall fireplace. Next to the bed on the left was a heavy bookcase filled to the brim with volumes of books.

Hey at least I'll finally have time to catch up on my reading, I thought bitterly.

Light shone on the smooth olive colored walls from the ginormous windows on the right side of the bed. They stretched almost from the floor to the ceiling with only filmy white curtains covering them.

"How the hell did I get here?" I wondered aloud. The last thing I remembered was standing on the porch and Dylan threatening me and throwing me down. I must have cried so much that it exhausted me and I passed out.

There was no one here but us so the obvious answer was the Dylan eventually came looking for me, saw me sleeping on the ground, and carried me up to this bedroom and tucked me in.

It would have been almost sweet…had he not been a psycho kidnapper.

I wasn't sure what time it was, there wasn't a clock of any type in the room, but I was guessing it was somewhat early, judging by the sunlight glaring through the curtains.

Taking a deep breath, I threw back the blankets and threw myself out of bed, landing loudly on the hardwood floor. I twisted my head around sharply, listening for any signs of movement.

After what seemed like a decade of silence, I decided to move around the room, opening drawers to see what was hidden. The wardrobe contained rows upon rows of sweaters and warm looking shirts, things to keep me from freezing from the cold. Underneath the shirts were many pairs of jeans, a couple leggings, and thick pajama pants. The drawer next to the pans contained underwear and socks and bras. The last large drawer underneath all that held beautiful dresses made from fine material. Seeing those made me laugh, I had the strong urge to build a fire and throw them in there. Why the hell would Dylan give me dresses? Did he think this was some kind of stupid Disney movie?

I shut the drawer and grabbed an oversized grey sweater, and after stripping off my pajamas, slipped it on over my head. Under that I pulled on thick black leggings and dark grey wool socks. Hopefully those would keep me warm.

After dressing I headed over to the vanity to see what else was hidden. Each of the drawers contained beauty items. One was full of makeup, the other full of lotions and perfumes, another full of different hair styling tools that I had never figured out how to use. Quietly I shut them all and used the brush lying on top of the vanity to flatten my hair and tame it slightly.

The last thing I went to look at was the book shelf.

And of course, it was full of all of my favorite books.

How Dylan even knew what kind of books I liked was a mystery to me. He must have stalked me long and hard during our conversations at the library to figure out which ones I liked best. Hell maybe he took pictures of the small bookcase in my room before he fucking kidnapped me! I don't know! He's crazy!

"Calm down." I whispered to myself, attempting to control my breathing. Freaking out and getting mad wouldn't help me get out of here any faster. I just had to hold on until Fang found me, or make a plan and save myself.

A sudden growl from my stomach disrupted my thoughts completely.

I couldn't remember the last time I had eaten, and now I was utterly starving.

"Guess it couldn't hurt to go find some food." I mumbled to myself.

"I mean what's the worst thing he can do? Kill me?" I chuckled to myself darkly, leading myself away from the bookcase and over to my bedroom door.

I grabbed the ice cold door knob and in one quick motion, before I could back out, yanked it open.

All I could see ahead of me was a long winding hallway. It was dimly lit, the only light coming from my bedroom and the dirty lanterns on the side.

I looked around and then slowly took a couple steps into the hallway.

When no one came out to attack me I assumed I was good to try and make it to the kitchen.

The socks kept my feet quiet and it helped that there was a thick rug along the light hardwood floors to silence my steps even more.

After passing at least five more closed doors I finally turned to the left and saw a large winding staircase leading downwards.

"That has to lead to the front entrance at least." I told myself.

Quickly I tip toed down it, making as little movement as I could. At the bottom of the stairs a wonderful smell came over me.

It smelled like fresh French toast with strawberries and syrup. It made my mouth water instantly. I knew I shouldn't have, but I started following the smell, lured in by my stomachs incessant growling and the delicious aroma.

"Good morning baby." I heard Dylan call out as soon as I walked into the kitchen. He was standing by the kitchen table with a smug look on his face. On the kitchen table were several plates of French toast with strawberries and next to that were sausages and eggs and a little gravy boat of syrup. It was a true feast. My stomach immediately growled loudly at the sight.

"Don't call me that." I growled back at him instantly. My facial expression and body language immediately were hardening up because of his presence.

"Since I just spent an hour making you this lovely breakfast Maximum, I think I can call you whatever I want." he responded nonchalantly, giving his shoulders a little shrug from where he stood.

"I'd rather starve than eat anything you made." I retorted back, my lip curling up in disgust.

"I can't make you eat this food Maximum, but I will be cooking all of our meals, so you can either eat it and be happy, or like you said, starve." he said to me.

"Maybe I'll just cook my own food." I told him annoyed. I started to move towards the stove but stopped when I heard Dylan break out into laughter.

"Come on Maximum, we both know you can't cook. You used to have Nudge make you sandwiches because you couldn't even do that right." Dylan laughed.

"And how the hell would you know that?" I asked him, my voice dangerously low.

"Let's just say I did my research sweetie." Dylan responded smartly, taking a few steps closer to me.

"You crazy fucker." I muttered under my breath, part of me hoping he wouldn't hear it, and part of me hoping he would. Apparently he did because the next thing I knew his eyes had darkened and his face became hard. Before I could blink Dylan picked up one of the gravy boats filled with syrup and threw it as hard as he could at the wall behind my head, causing it to smash into pieces and fling syrup and china everywhere.

"You watch yourself Maximum, I'm the only thing keeping you alive right now, the only thing." he told me darkly.

Then without another word, he walked out of the kitchen.

I stared off into space for a second, trying to catch my breath. What he had just done terrified me, but I couldn't let him see, I had to show him that he couldn't get to me, no matter what.

After a few moments of steady breathing exercises I focused back on the food in front of me.

Dylan was right when he said I couldn't cook, and again when he said it was either eat this or starve. My brain was choosing starve, but my stomach disagreed and before I knew it I was wolfing down slices of French toast and sausage links like I hadn't eaten in days, which was actually pretty accurate if I thought about it.

Once I had gotten my fill I decided to clean up the kitchen. There was nothing else for me to do and my habits from home had kicked in. It was always my job to clean up after meals because Nudge hated touching anything with leftover food, Gazzy would have accidentally broken all of the plates, and Angel was just too young to do it, so it fell to me, not that I minded…well most of the time.

Thinking about home just made me miss them so much more. As I was cleaning soft tears began to fall down my face.

All I could think about was how I never told Jeb how much I loved him, and how great of a father he was to me, and how I would never forget the day he brought me home with him, and him letting me jump on the couch.

I never told Nudge just how gorgeous she was, and how I knew, that if she put her mind to it, she would be an amazing fashion designer. I couldn't tell her how sorry I was for always interrupting her when she went on off on one of her long speeches. I missed her speeches.

And Gazzy, I never told him how utterly brilliant he was. He could make bombs from almost anything, and they always worked, sometimes a little too well, I thought making me smile a little through my tears.

And Angel, I never told her how special she was to me. How she was like my own little baby. How I knew she was destined for great things.

And Fang. I never told him how wonderful he was. How going to the dance with him was probably one of the best days of my life. How handsome he looked in that suit. How strong and brave and smart he was. And worst of all, I never told him that I love him. And now, I don't know if I'll ever be able to.

The tears fell more freely now, falling into the sink as I finished washing the dishes and placing them on the drying rack.

"It'll be okay Max. You can do it. You can get out." I tried to convince myself reassuringly as I walked back up the stairs to my room. But really, I wasn't so sure.

Dylan had me trapped here.

Suddenly I was filled with an anger so powerful all I could see was red.

Dylan had trapped me here, he had beaten me, degraded me, kidnapped me, locked me away from my friends and family, ruined my entire life.

He had ruined EVERYTHING!

I just couldn't take it anymore. I ran to my room and slammed the door shut, locking it behind me, and screaming out with a ferocity that surprised even me.

I stormed over to the bookcase and tore the books out of the shelves, throwing them to the floor, enjoying the hard thumping sound they made against the wood. Next I went over the vanity and smashed the glass mirror with my fist, causing it to immediately cut my knuckles and allow bright red blood to seep out. But I didn't care, I was beyond caring.

"MAXIMUM WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN THERE?!" I heard Dylan yell as he began to pound on my door, he tried to open it but the lock held fast.

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" I yelled back, making my way over to the wardrobe next, my hand still bleeding profusely.

"MAXIMUM, I HAVE A KEY, DON'T DO ANYTHING STUPID!" he yelled out, his voice muffled by the heavy door.

"YOU RUINED EVERYTHING!" I screamed at him, beginning to tear clothes out of the wardrobe and throw them to the floor, my hand staining some of the shirts with blood.

I could hear Dylan fiddling with the lock; he must not have been bluffing when he said he had a key. It was ironic I thought, he sounded almost worried back there.

I chuckled darkly to myself, continuing to tear the room apart piece by piece.

Before I knew what was happening two strong hands had grabbed my arms, pulling me away from the wardrobe as I screamed loudly in defiance.

"LET GO! LET GO YOU MONSTER!" I yelled, whipping my head around and struggling to get free.

Dylan dragged me out of the room and down the hallway to what looked like a bathroom. It had a shower in one corner and bath in the center and a toilet in the other corner.

"Maximum, just calm down!" Dylan commanded me, his voice taking on the edge of panic.

I just continued thrashing in his arms and screaming. He threw me into the shower and turned on the water before I even had the chance to get up.

Water immediately began to pour from the shower head in icy buckets. I continued screaming but I could no longer move. The deathly cold water had me frozen in place. Tears fell from my eyes from the pain of such cold water hitting my already cold body.

Dylan stood next to me, staring down at me. I could see the tears in his eyes, and once I noticed that, I stopped screaming.

"I'm so sorry Maximum." he whispered gently, small silent tears beginning to fall out the outer corner of his eyes.

I just stared at him, not comprehending, only seeing.

After a few minutes with us just staring at each other as the cold water continued to fall over me, he finally reached over and turned it off. He grabbed the nearest towel and wrapped it around my body, lifting me up out of the shower and setting my down on the edge of the bathtub, trying to dry me off as best as he could.

After I was somewhat dry he led me to my bedroom, stepping over the mess I had made in my rage. He grabbed the warmest set of pajamas he could find and after removing the towel began to strip me.

I was frozen. I must have been in some sort of shock. It was like I was seeing what was happening but I wasn't actually there.

Dylan stared in my eyes for a moment, searching for an okay to continue. I didn't necessarily give him one, but I didn't shove him away either.

He sighed gently and then turned me around so my back was to him. Then he quickly and efficiently slipped off the rest of my clothes, and slid the new, warm ones on. He never stopped to touch me or stare at me; he never even turned me around. It was clinical and quick.

Once I was dressed he softly brushed my hair and threw it up into a loose ponytail to keep it out of my eyes.

Then he led me over to the bed and after pulling back the covers, placed me gently on the mattress and tucked me in.

"Sleep now Maximum, it will all be okay, I promise." he said softly.

I just stared at him. He looked over me once again, making sure I was okay, and then began to walkout of the room. I rolled over quietly, my back facing both him and the door. I shut my eyes tightly and tried to drift off to sleep.

"I'm sorry Maximum, I'm so so sorry." was the last thing I heard Dylan whisper before I fell into a deep deep sleep.

* * *

**Hey guys, so whew this chapter went to so many places don't you think? What in the world is going to happen next? You'll have to wait and see haha. This is actually double the amount of what I usually write, I guess I was feeling inspired. Let me know what you think of this chapter, good or bad, I love to hear from you guys. I hope you're all doing really well and as always Fly On :)**


	19. Chapter 19

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Maximum Ride characters, all of that is owned by the wonderful James Patterson**

**Chapter 19**

I woke to the sound of glass shards scraping against the hardwood floor. Dylan must have been sweeping up the mirror shards I broke off of the mirror yesterday in my anger. I squinted my eyes tighter shut trying hard to ignore the piercing sound grating my ears. I figured if I just ignored it long enough he would just stop.

But he just kept going. Scrape, scrape, scrape against the floorboards.

"Stop!" I called out, hoping that would stop the noise.

"Oh Maximum, I'm sorry I didn't realize that I would wake you." I heard Dylan softly say back.

I didn't respond, I just wanted him to leave so I could sleep some more.

"How are you feeling?" he asked me. I could hear him moving slowly closer to me, almost cautiously, which was a large change from the Dylan I knew yesterday.

I curled up into a ball, smothering my face in the pillows to hide the tears inching their way out of the corner of my eyes.

"Please Maximum, just say something, anything, I'm begging you." he whispered gently. I felt the edge of the bed dip where he had sat down.

I counted to three silently in my head and when I reached zero, I opened my eyes.

The first thing I noticed was that it was bright. I glanced out the window and saw that the sun was high in the sky signaling that it was at least midday.

The room was in total disarray. The mirror shards had been mostly swept up into one corner of the room but there was still white powder from the backing of the mirror scattered along the floor, making a trail from the vanity to the corner.

Books had been stacked along the wall near the bookshelf but hadn't officially been put back. The clothes had been folded and hung and placed back in the wardrobe. A couple of shirts had been thrown in the trash bin in the corner; I could see my blood staining the shirts, a once bright red a now deep brown.

I looked down at my hands and saw that they had been bandaged profusely with several layers of gauze, especially around the knuckles. I tried to clench my fists but I could only do it about halfway before wincing and hissing in pain.

"Be careful Maximum, I managed to close up the cuts, some of them were a bit deep but I used some skin glue and they closed right up." Dylan told me gently reaching his hand towards me.

For the first time since I had opened my eyes I looked at him, I mean really looked at him.

He was slouched over while sitting on my bed. His hair was disheveled and clothes were dirty. His face was the worst of all though. He looked so defeated. His lips were turned down in a permanent frown; his eyes were foggy and rimmed with red as if he had been crying recently. They just looked so sad, as if the world had been ripped out from underneath him and for a moment, just a moment, I felt sorry for him, and for an even smaller moment, I almost wanted to help him.

"You don't have to clean this up, I can do it." I whispered to him gently. The words came out strangled and hoarse as if my throat didn't remember how to speak. His eyes met mine and I could see it. I could see all of the things he hadn't shown me before. I could see the pain and hurt and love and sadness that he had been covering up all this time.

"No it's fine Maximum, just lay there and recover, get some more sleep if you can, I'm just going to sweep up the rest of these mirror shards and then I'll be on my way. If you want I can bring some food p to you later if you'd like. Are you hungry?" he said gently, as if he didn't want to spook me.

I didn't want to say anything but my stomach betrayed me by letting out a viscous growl trying to clearly communicating my hunger.

"It's okay, you don't have to say anything, I'll bring up some toast later for you okay." he told me gently finally sitting up straight and getting off of my bed.

Against my better judgment I offered him a weak smile, too tired and too worn down to fight it.

He smiled back at me gently, one of the first real smiles I'd seen since that first day in the library. And with that, he left.

* * *

I fell back to sleep shortly after Dylan left, letting the warm sun lull me back to sweet dreams of Fang and my home and my siblings. But sadly after only a couple of hours, I awoke.

The smell of buttered toast woke me from my sweet dreams, my stomach protesting against the lack of nutrition. Along with the toast were over easy eggs, miraculously still warm and three slices of bacon.

I sat up and reached over grabbing the plate and shoveled the food in m mouth, moaning with ecstasy as my taste buds became overwhelmed by the wonderful tastes.

After eating I looked at the clock and noticed that it was two in the afternoon, I'd been asleep for over twelve hours. I guess when you go through something traumatic your first thought is to sleep.

But I was tired of sleeping; I was tired of lying in this bed and doing nothing. I needed to know more about where I was staying, I needed to know more about my captor, I mean clearly he wasn't as deranged as I thought; he was actually capable of showing emotions.

I quickly dressed in a pair of grey sweatpants that rolled up at the ankles and a form fitting black V-neck t-shirt. I threw on some socks and the shoes I had been wearing when I was brought here. My hair I just threw up into a messy bun so it was out of my face with a couple of bobby pins to trap the flyway's.

Feeling dressed and a bit more like myself I moved quietly towards the door, tiptoeing as if Dylan could hear the floorboards moving underneath me.

The door creaked open gently and I peered out into the hallway. I didn't know where Dylan was but I knew he wasn't in the hallway, and to be honest it's not like he could do anything more to me. I mean he had already kidnapped me against my will.

I moved quickly into the hallway opening doors as I went. I had already gone down half the hallway and so far all I had seen were a bathroom with all of the necessities and a linen closet full of towels, washcloths, and bedsheets.

There was only one more door and it was at the end of the hallway. The wood on the door was different than the others. The wood was dark, almost black and it was taller and wider than the others. I reached the door and knocked on it cautiously. I could hear the knock echo gently through the door showing that it was incredibly thick wood. I glanced behind me and seeing that no one was around I placed my hand against the handle. With a deep breath I pushed down.

It was locked. Of course it was locked, I was so stupid.

I stood for a minute contemplating. Whatever was in this room had to be important if it was locked. I reached up and pulled one of my bobby pins from my hair and pulled the tines away from each other stretching it out as far as possible.

Slowly but surely I reached down and placed the bobby pin in the lock of the door handle wiggling it around until I felt each section of the lock give in and connect.

I guess being Jeb's kid had its perks.

When the bobby pin reached the end of the lock I turned it as carefully as I could and smiled when I heard it shift and unlock.

With another breath I closed my eyes for a second and pushed down on the handle and pushing the door forward with my knee.

And what I saw inside as soon as I opened the door I will never forget for as long as I live.

* * *

**I know it's been a long time and I'm so sorry. My life has been so crazy. I'm engaged, living with my finance, working over 60 hours a week and yet still trying to be an adult. Life gets crazy guys so hold on to the fun while you can. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I promise there will be way more updates and a lot sooner. Write revies or send me messages, anything you want, don't hold back guys. And remember as always, fly on.**


	20. Chapter 20

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Maximum Ride characters, all of that is owned by the wonderful James Patterson**

**Chapter 20**

The room was dark, and I could see dust flying through the air from the little strips of sunlight that came through the heavily draped windows.

Candles lined the pretty much empty room. They rested on the floor against the wall in a perfect square. All of them were almost three fourths of the way melted, simply liquid at this point with barely any sold wax left.

It took me what felt like a lifetime for my eyes to finally adjust to the dark room.

Coffins. Those were the first things I noticed. Two shiny black coffins sitting directly in the center of the room. The smell itself almost knocked me over. It smelled like death, something rotting. Along with that were at least ten different sweet smells, fresh cotton, apple pie, sugar cookie, even ocean sand, but nothing could cover up the pure sour stench of death.

The coffins were the only pieces of furniture, if you could even call the furniture, in the room. I walked around them gently, staying as far away from them as I could without knocking over the candles and starting a fire. The wallpaper was torn away from the wall as if someone had started peeling it and then gave up halfway. In some patches it looked burnt, black ash lined the walls and littered the floor. The drapes itself were covered in mounds of dust. I ran my finger across a patch and came away with a thick layer of grey dust. Just looking at it made my nose twitch.

As I reached the far wall I noticed something hanging on the wall.

It was a gold frame. It was large and square and hung crooked on the wall. The sides were scratched and worn thin; in fact one of the edges was even broken off. Behind the frame the wall was completely black. The burn marks ran from the ceiling to the floor.

Inside the frame was a photo. It had clearly been burned in some kind of fire just like the frame, all uneven and curled.

The family remained intact though, just the scenery had been ruined. The family was so beautiful. The mom had wavy light brown hair with spicy green eyes and a winning smile, the kind that I'd see on television. The dad had the same winning smile, he was wearing a suit and had perfectly combed blonde hair, it was funny, he had the same aqua blue eyes as Dylan.

"My parents." I heard a voice say behind me.

I jumped about three feet in the air, letting out yelp and knocking the frame off of the wall. It fell to the floor with a loud crack, narrowly missing the still burning candles.

"Dylan." I said breathlessly, inching backwards and deeper into the room.

He didn't say anything, just sighed and ran his hand down his face, coming into the room and gently grabbing the frame from the floor and hanging it back on the wall, letting it fall crooked, as if it no longer knew had to sit straight.

"I…I'm sorry." I whispered, staring down at the floor. I was too afraid to look at him.

"It's not your fault Maximum. I figured you would find this room eventually, I just didn't expect it to be so soon. I heard you moving around up here but I figured the lock would stop you. I should've known you would be able to pick a lock." Dylan responded, staring longingly at the picture.

I wanted to move past him and run out of the room, but my curiosity got the best of me, I had to know what had happened here.

"They were your parents?" I asked him, keeping my voice smooth and calm.

"Yeah, they had this taken the day before they died. They were on their honeymoon. I was at home with the nanny, barely three years old." he told me, his eyes never leaving the photo. He slowly reached up and ran his finger delicately across his parent's faces, a small smile gracing his lips.

"Why do you keep them here in the room they died in?" I questioned.

Dylan paused, I could see his arms stiffen; I had hit a sore spot for him.

"Both sets of my grandparents died before I was born. My parents were only children and when they met they lost touch with all of their friends so when they died, there was no one to take responsibility. They had put all of their money into the wedding and so there was nothing left to pay for the funeral. They had just enough to buy the coffins which the funeral home was nice enough to drop off here and place the bodies inside. I haven't been able to touch them since. I only come in to relight the candles if they go out or die." he revealed.

"It was a fire wasn't it." I told him, moving slightly closer. I couldn't help it. I had lost my parents at a young age too and I knew what it felt like to have your world ripped apart for no real reason at all.

"I guess the burnt walls give it away." he chuckled sadly, dropping his hand from the frame and wrapping his arms around himself.

"How did the fire start?" I prodded him further. I wanted all the details, and I wanted them now.

"Candles." he told me, "They were sleeping and they had left a candle burning because my mom liked the smell to follow her into her dreams. I guess she had knocked into it in her sleep and by the time they woke up I guess it was too late."

"I'm so sorry Dylan." I told him, reaching up to place my hand gently on his shoulder. As soon as my fingers brushed his shirt he flinched away from me. It threw me off. I had thought he would revel in my touch considering how often he told me he loved me, but here he was making a point to avoid my touch.

"Um…so why all the candles?" I asked him.

"I don't know. Irony I guess." he told me quickly. Inching closer to the door, I could tell he wanted this conversation to end and was ready to leave. But I still had questions.

"Aren't you afraid of the house catching on fire again? Afraid of dying?" I asked quickly. I wanted to get the last question out before he left.

"I'm not afraid to die Maximum, I've come to realize, there's a lot worse things than death." he replied. And with that, he was gone.

* * *

After he left I couldn't stand to be in the room alone with the bodies so I rushed back to my room, not caring that Dylan could hear me.

I was torn up inside. I felt bad for Dylan because I knew what it was like to lose everything and have nothing left, I felt bad for him and I understood him. I knew he was still a bad guy for kidnapping me and there was still something wrong with him mentally but I couldn't help but have a little bit of compassion for him. I didn't know what the hell was wrong with me. But maybe a shower would help.

The bathroom was brightly lit from the curtain less windows. I enjoyed the sunlight streaming in and covering the floor creating warm patches across the tiles.

I went over to the walk in shower with the glass door and cranked the water on all the way to hot, letting the steam rise up and fog the mirrors. I stripped down and pulled my hair loose letting it fall in waves down my back. I swished my head from side to side appreciating the feel of it brushing along my shoulder blades. With a small sigh I stepped into the shower and let the boiling hot water run along my naked body and burn my skin making my feel cleansed.

I closed my eyes and allowed myself to imagine Fang.

What it would be like for him to save me.

The door would burst open and he would be standing there, breathing hard and looking for me.

Once he laid eyes on me he would take in m yanked state and rush towards me, ripping open the shower door and pushing my against the far wall covering my lips with his and running his hands from my waist to my stomach to my breasts giving them a small squeeze and slipping his tongue into my mouth, showing me how much he missed me.

The water would run along us, soaking his clothes so much that he would let me remove them until he was as bare as I was, until it was skin on skin. He would pull my leg up around him and move his hips against mine until we were both so ready that it felt like I would burst from need and desire. And then he would slide in so gently that it would barely hurt at all and all I would be able to focus on is him inside me, making us one. He would slide in and out slowly, letting me adjust, teasing me until I begged him to move faster.

The fantasy continued but instead of Fang, it was Dylan, he was the one making delicious love to me in the shower, he would kiss along my neck, licking the water droplets off of my breasts while still slowly thrusting in and out of me begging for me to moan louder.

"Oh Dylan." I would murmur before I could stop myself.

"I love you Maximum." he would whisper in my ear pushing himself in as far as he could go.

At that I snapped out of the fantasy, screaming as loud as possible to push the image out of my mind. I was angry that my fantasy had been overtaken by him, and angry that I had actually enjoyed it, even more then the part with Fang.

I heard the door burst open.

"Maximum what's wrong? Are you okay?" Dylan shouted over the sound of my screams.

"GET OUT!" I yelled at him. "GET OUT, GET OUT, GET OUT!" I screamed it over and over not stopping to even breathe.

"Just tell me you're okay and I'll leave." he yelled back, slamming his hand against the cabinets for emphasis.

"I'M FINE JUST LEAVE! GET OUT!" I screamed back only stopping after I heard the door slam shut.

After that I sat down on the shower floor, catching my breath and holding my knees close to my body.

Only after the water had turned as cold as ice did finally stand up again.


	21. Chapter 21

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Maximum Ride characters, all of that is owned by the wonderful James Patterson**

**Chapter 21**

Despite the fact that I had been there about a month I had yet to explore anything other than the house. There were the bedrooms upstairs; my room, then the bathroom, and at the end of the hall, "the room", as I had begun to call it. I stayed as far away from that room as I could. At night sometimes I felt like I could hear his parents walking the corridors, whispering to one another, sometimes I begged them to save me, but they never did.

At the bottom of the house was a living room with an immense DVD collections, I'm talking over 300 hundred DVD's, some dating all the way back to the late 60's. It was crazy, and the TV was so monstrously huge you could barely notice anything else. Next to that was a front parlor room with nothing put old furniture covered in plastic that reeked of dust. Behind that was the dining room with tall dark wooden chairs and the longest table I had ever seen, and yet there were only four chairs. It was weird, in a sad way. And beyond that room was the kitchen where I shared all of my meals with Dylan. He always tried really hard to force small talk on me, asking about how my day was and what foods he should make next. It was beyond irritating. Usually I would just eat my meal in silence and then run back up to my room after I was done.

I never thought it would happen, but I was actually used to Dylan's constant presence in the house. I would walk right by him on the way to the living room without even flinching. He no longer bothered me and made me feel uncomfortable. In fact he did his best to try and make it feel homey. One day I was humming a song under my breath and the next day I could hear it playing from the kitchen. If he wasn't a psychotic kidnapper, it would have almost been sweet.

We never talked about what happened that day in "the room", or what happened in the bathroom later. It was the elephant in the room, but I didn't want to talk about it and I knew he wouldn't ask.

On the second week of my stay I had found some pencils and paper hidden away at the back of the vanity behind the unlimited shades of eyeshadow that I would never use. Some of them were broken and smashed from my first night here when I tore the room to shreds. I used the pencils and paper to document my stay. I had never been a huge writer and diaries weren't really my thing but hey, better late than never right?

Unfortunately writing a diary entry only took so long and I couldn't draw so I had about ten hours in my day that I needed to fill with…something.

The clock on my wall said twelve sharp, it was only noon. I had woken up around seven and written for about an hour. I couldn't stand to watch the clock tick by and any more TV was going to make my head turn to mush, so I forced myself to go back to sleep. I read somewhere that sleeping too much was a sign of depression, I was definitely depressed.

It was only noon and thanks to that nap I was now wide awake and wired. I forced myself up out of bed and immediately made it up. What can I say, old habits die hard, and Jeb didn't raise a slob.

I threw on some clothes that I dug out of the closet, just some simple cutoff jeans and black V-neck tee. As usual I just threw my hair up into a messy braid and left my face bare. There was no reason to put on makeup here, not that I really did anyway, makeup was Nudge's thing. Gosh I missed Nudge like crazy. I had to stop thinking about her or I was going to burst into tears.

I wanted to go outside. I needed fresh air, I felt like a dying flower. I knew that there was no way I would be able to escape through the woods, but maybe I would run across someone who could help me. Dylan had said we were the only ones around for miles upon miles, and maybe he was right, but I couldn't help hoping.

I figured I could at least try to go outside and hike through the woods, if anything the worst Dylan would do is stop me. And I could handle that, I wasn't scared anymore. I was too tired and too sad to be scared.

I had just reached the door to the patio when I heard his voice behind me.

"Where are you going?" Dylan asked me cautiously, inching his way closer to me as if I was a wounded animal. I continued on, opening the door and swinging it wide so that the sun hit my pale face.

"Out." I muttered softly, reveling in the feel of the sun kissing my skin.

"Maximum, I've told you, there's nothing out there for miles. You won't run into anyone, you'll just get lost in the woods and I'll have to come save you." he explained gently, trying not the hurt my feelings. He reached out to touch my arm but stopped a few centimeters short and let it drop.

"I just need to be outside; I need to feel air run through my hair." I whispered sadly, I could hear the brokenness in my voice and I knew he could hear it too.

"You could get hurt Maximum, you could even die." Dylan said worriedly.

"It wouldn't be the worst thing to happen." I breathed out. And with that I took a step out onto the porch. The sun bathed my skin in warmth and I sighed in pure ecstasy. I never imagined the sun could feel so good.

"At least let me come with you." he begged desperately, continuing to follow behind me as I stepped off of the porch and onto the dirt road surrounding the property. I just shrugged and kept walking. I reached the edge of the forest and stopped short pausing only long enough to take a deep breath and build up some courage. Then I continued on with Dylan shuffling along behind me.

I wasn't sure how long we had been walking but I was covered head to toe in sweat, it was everywhere, inside of my elbows to the back of my knees. I was exhausted. I was practically delirious with exhaustion. I was so thirsty my throat was completely dry. I wasn't even paying attention to the path anymore; I was just focusing on making myself walk a straight line, which is why I made one of the biggest mistakes of my life.

"Fuck!" I screamed out as I tripped over something on the path. I lost my balance and tried to reach out and grab onto a branch or anything but grabbing nothing. I heard a faint crack and then a sharp pain shot up my foot from my heel to my calf. When I finally came too after falling I looked for what had tripped me and came face to face with a brown snake covered and dark brown diamonds along its back. It reared its head up and hissed at me, its eyes narrowing in pure anger and hatred.

"Maximum don't move and stay quiet! It's a copperhead." Dylan whispered sharply. My eyes widened and I glanced up at him, my face full of fear, and gave him the slightest nod, so small I wondered if he even registered it. The snake hissed louder forcing me to stare back at it to watch its every move. Its head reared back. I could feel the beads of sweat dripping from my forehead onto the soft dirt. The copperheads tongue poked out of its mouth, slithering to and fro, smelling the scent of my fear. I couldn't move, I couldn't blink, I couldn't think. All I could do was stare and pray it didn't strike.

Out of the corner of my eye I noticed Dylan inching his way behind the snake, moving so incredibly slow I almost thought I had imagined it. The snake threw its head back higher and hissed louder, its tail beginning to flick back and forth at a rapid pace. Its beady eyes had moved from mine and settled on an open patch of skin on my ankle.

"One the count of three I want you to move as far out of range as fast as you can." he forced out between his teeth, quieter than even the quietest whisper, his lips barley quivering.

"One." The snake reared back.

"Two." It's hissing stopped completely, its mouth open exposing its sharp fangs practically dripping with poison.

"Three." It struck.

As soon as I heard the word come out of Dylan's mouth I rolled as fast as I could praying the snake hadn't gotten to me. Another sharp pain shot up my ankle and I screamed out in pain. Even in pain I didn't stop rolling until I knew I was far enough away. When I finally stopped and looked up the first thing I noticed was the snakes open mouth suspended in midair a couple feet away. Behind the snake was Dylan clutching the back of its head, its tail swinging wildly through the air attempting to grab onto something.

"Did it get you?" Dylan asked sharply, completely out of breath. I searched my ankle all over but I couldn't find any pierce marks, the pain in my ankle must have just been a side effect of the fall. Dylan's eyes were so full of worry that it almost shocked me that he seemed to care so much about me.

"No, I'm okay." I called back to him. Dylan nodded at me and then reached down to finally grab the tail of the snake gaining complete control over the reptile.

"What are you going to do with the snake?" I asked him slowly, hoping he wasn't going to kill it. It wasn't the snakes fault that I tripped over it, I should have been paying attention, it was just protecting its home from an outsider, me.

"Whatever you want me to do Maximum." Dylan offered.

"Please release it, I know it seems stupid but it should be free, this is its home." I told him, hoping he would listen.

"Okay I'll be right back, just stay there." he responded immediately. He walked off the path and into the woods. I counted off the seconds in my head. I had just reached ten minutes when I saw him emerge again from the woods.

"It's getting late, we should go back, and you're injured." Dylan said softly, coming over to where I was still sitting on the ground. Dirt covered my shorts and my black tee was even darker from sweat. I knew he was right, no one was in these woods except us, and my ankle had already swelled up to the size of a baseball, I needed help, I needed his help.

"Let's go back." I sighed, attempting to push myself up onto one leg. I had managed to stand up but the second I put weight on my ankle I felt the sharp pain shoot up.

"Shit." I muttered to myself standing in the middle of the path like a bright pink flamingo, one leg up.

"Let me help you Maximum." Dylan spoke, coming closer to me and holding out his hand, silently asking me to trust him to lead us back to the house.

I paused. I knew I wouldn't be able to get back to the house without him. I had to accept his help.

Against my better judgment, I took his hand. Without even breaking a sweat Dylan reached down and lifted my legs up so that he was carrying me bridal style through the forest. As Dylan carried me home it had dawned on me that he had just saved my life. He could have just let the snake bite me and be done with it but he had risked his life by tackling the snake and praying it didn't bite him or me. Dylan had saved my life.

I'm not sure how long he carried me, I had fallen asleep after a while, the setting sun luring me to sleep as it peaked through the trees, and my ankle no longer hurt since it was suspended in the air. When I awoke my head was resting on his chest, my body cradled into his, I looked up and noticed he was just coming out of the forest, walking the last couple of feet to the house.

"Hey Dylan?" I asked him, my voice husky with sleep.

"Yes Maximum." he responded gently, speaking softly into my ear.

"Thank you for saving my life." I told him.

"I would do anything for you Maximum." he commented softly. Then right as I started nodding off again, I was almost sure I heard him say it, so quiet I almost missed it.

"I love you."


End file.
